


Be All You Can Be

by Goodnightwife



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Captain America - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Safe For Work, Shapeshifting, Snuggling, questionable science, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-01 22:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 37,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15783198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodnightwife/pseuds/Goodnightwife
Summary: Y/N is a shapeshifter who only realized her power after being hit on the head.Chapters will post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until we have an entire story!





	1. Chapter 1

Y/N’s life was never anything special. She had a good but unremarkable childhood, did okay in school, went to college, got a decent job as a personal assistant in a solid (albeit small) company, and had a handful of friends. What more could anyone want out of life? She hadn’t given much thought to marriage or children, there was always time for that later. After work, Y/N and her friends would routinely stop by their favorite bar for a drink. The bartender knew them by name and their drinks by heart. It was a good way to live.

After their normal drinks one Friday evening, someone decided that it would be a great idea to go to a new club that night. The small group parted ways, vowing to meet at the club at midnight. Y/N walked the few blocks to her small apartment and took a short nap before changing into a her “club clothes”. She pulled on the black pants that were just form fitting enough to be club appropriate while still being moderately comfortable. A purple lace top layered over a black tube top and a pair of high heeled boots completed the outfit. Y/N gave herself a once-over in a floor length mirror and was pleased with the result. Her y/h/c hair was pulled back into a ponytail in the center of her head. Make up was simple but Y/N never really liked doing the whole makeup thing anyway.

The line outside the club when Y/N arrived was impressively long. A quick text message informed her that her friends were running late and asked if she go ahead and get in line. Y/N replied “yes” and moved to stand at the end of the long line. Thirty minutes and 17 levels of Candy Crush later there was still no movement forward whatsoever. Y/N texted her friends to see where they were. Stuck in traffic was the answer. Traffic at midnight, only in New York. Y/N rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stuffed her phone back into her tiny back pocket when some commotion at the end of the line that had grown behind her had most of the line ahead of her turning to look back. 

A rowdy group of five large men had taken up residence at the end of the line and they were already drunk. But they were all so large, no one took it upon themselves to ask the men to leave or even to quiet down. They joked crudely and pushed each other and others around them. They laughed hilariously when they made someone else in the line fall down. One by one, the people in the line in front of them moved away, opening the way for them to be stand behind Y/N. More annoyed than afraid, she turned away, hoping that ignoring them was the best way to deter them from bother her. Y/N was wrong. 

A large hand slapped against her arm with such force that Y/N lost her balance and fell off of the sidewalk. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, pretty lady!” one of the men said loudly as he reached down and grabbed Y/N’s arms, hauling her to her feet. He quickly released her arms, to Y/N’s relief, but then began “brushing” her off by running his large, clumsy hands down her sides and even down her back to rest on her butt. 

“Don’t touch me!” Y/N yelled and slapped at his arms, hoping the noise would appeal to some do-gooder who might help her. In the back of her mind, she knew she should be afraid, but she wasn’t. 

“What’s the matter, pretty lady?” the man sneered into her face, the stench of alcohol washing over her, making her a little nauseous. “Don’t you like being touched?”

“Not by you!” Y/N replied firmly and loudly. “Take your hands off me!”

“Oh honey, I haven’t even started yet,” the man promised loudly even as he staggered to the side slightly. Y/N took a deep breath, ready to scream at the top of her lungs. The group of men began to surround her. Y/N struggled against the large arms as they wrapped around her waist but they were too strong. The men dragged her out of the line and down an alley.

“NO! HELP ME!” Y/N screamed over and over until her throat ached. She knew she was no match against all five men and she had never been much of a fighter anyway. A ripping sound pierced through the air and Y/N felt cool air on her back. Her purple lace top fell in pieces to the pavement. Large hands turned her roughly and slammed her back against the wall of a building, the bricks scratched against the skin on her newly exposed back, pulling at the tube top. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep the top in place. The five men, still staggering and leering at her, began to crowd in. 

“Please,” Y/N begged, hoping to appeal to their humanity, if they had any. “Please let me go.” she whispered. They laughed. Y/N turned her head, not wanting to watch what was about to happen to her. 

“Well, hey fellas, whatcha got there?” a sing-song voice sounded loudly behind the group. One by one, the men turned to see who had spoken. Y/N peaked through a gap between two sets of large shoulders to see a man dressed entirely in a red and black suit, a hood completely covered his head and a mask over his face. Two sticks stood up from behind his shoulders. Y/N didn’t know who he was and didn’t care, he was there and maybe he would help her. 

“Please help me,” Y/N begged the red mask. One of the men turned to Y/N and swiftly backhanded her across her face. Y/N fell to the pavement, pain radiating through her head. 

“Now that wasn’t very nice, was it, big boy?” the red mask asked, tilting his head to the right, the white slits where his eyes should be narrowed. From Y/N’s place on the ground, she watched in amazement as the red suited man whipped out the sticks from behind his back, which turned out to be swords and started fighting her attackers. Because they were all so drunk it wasn’t much of a fight. Y/N pulled herself up and began to run out of the alley as fast her three-inch heels could take her but a strong hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back, slamming her back against the wall, her head rang from hitting the bricks. As quickly as the man appeared, he was pulled off of her and Y/N fell to the pavement again, darkness beginning to edge her vision and pain radiating from her shoulder. 

“Stick around, pretty boy, I have a special treat for you,” Red Mask declared as he whipped the man around and threw him against the building. Y/N rolled onto her back, feeling weak and nauseous, when a new voice entered the alley. 

“Damn it, Wade, why do you always have to make such a mess?”

“You were late, Cap, what was I supposed to do?” Red Mask replied, still kicking a few of the downed attackers. 

A blonde head connected to impossibly wide shoulders blocked Y/N’s view of the top the buildings. She heard him mutter something like “are you okay” when darkness finally crowded in and Y/N felt nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Y/N regained consciousness slowly and painfully. Her head was pounding and she was cold. A quick inventory of her limbs reminded her of the pain radiating from her right shoulder and her head. With a groan, she opened her eyes to find Red Mask hovering over her. 

“Hey there, Sleeping Beauty,” he said softly. “She’s awake, Cappy!” he yelled over his shoulder. 

“Is she okay?” came the reply followed by a grunt. 

“I don’t know!” Red Mask replied and turned back to Y/N. “You okay, Cupcake?”

“My head hurts,” Y/N whispered, tears beginning to pool in her eyes from the pain. 

“Oh no, no no no no no,” Red Mask began to panic and turned to speak over his shoulder as he stood and ran toward a pile of unconscious, or possibly dead, hooligans that the blonde was currently tying up. “She’s crying, ‘merica, your turn.”

Y/N moaned and tried to stifle her tears as she pushed herself up to sit against the building, exchanging the cold pavement against her back for cold bricks. The blonde turned back to her and rushed to her side. 

“Hey, hey, be careful,” he said softly as he took a knee by her side. Y/N looked up into the most beautiful set of blue eyes she had ever seen. “You should go slow, you might have a concussion.” he warned. 

“Yeah,” Y/N gulped, “that would be smart I guess.”

Blue Eyes held his hands up, his eyes conveying nothing but concern, “I need to check to make sure you don’t have any broken bones, is that okay?” 

Y/N nodded slowly, not wanting to cause herself any more pain.

“What’s your name?” Blue Eyes asked as he carefully ran his hands down her arms and legs. 

“Y/N,” she responded softly, watching the movement of his hands. They were such nice hands, strong but gentle, so different from the rough hands that were on her just a few minutes ago. At that thought, Y/N began to sob, realizing just how close it had come to being full blown gang rape. 

“Oh, hey, Y/N,” Blue Eyes pressed a cloth handkerchief into her shaking hands. “It’ll be okay,” he comforted as he took off his jacket and carefully wrapped it around her shaking shoulders. Y/N took some deep breaths and tried to dry her eyes. 

“W-what’s your n-n-name?” she asked when she caught her breath again, holding the cloth to her wet face. Who still carries cloth handkerchiefs?

“Steve Rogers, ma’am,” he replied, his eyebrows still lifted in concern. 

“S-steve Rogers?” Y/N asked incredulously, her voice still struggling to even out from crying. “As in, C-captain America S-ste-eeve Rogers?”

“Yes, ma’am. Is there someone I can call for you?” he asked. 

“Oh, my friends! Yes.” Y/N reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone to find the screen smashed to bits. She tried to wake it up anyway but to no avail. “Well, shit.”

“It’s alright,” Steve put his hand over hers, probably just trying to keep her from crying again. “I have a phone if you know the number?”

“Ummm…” Y/N thought hard about her friends, trying to visualize anyone’s phone number. Stupid speed dial had removed the need to memorize anyone’s phone number. “I’m drawing a blank right now.”

“That’s okay,” he replied. “There’s an ambulance on the way and they will help you and make sure you don’t have a concussion. Do you have any family in the area, someone I can track down for you?”

“No family, in the area or otherwise,” Y/N shook her head slowly. “I’ll be okay. I’ll email someone when I get home.”

“Email?” Steve looked unimpressed. “I’ll stay with you until you’re home, just in case.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Y/N tried to dissuade him. Red Mask took that opportunity to skip over to them and plop himself down on the pavement next to her. 

“Feeling better, cupcake?” he asked. 

“A little bit. Who are you?” Y/N asked, racking her mind for a superhero who wears red who wasn’t Spiderman. 

“Deadpool, dearie.”

“Oh, sorry,” Y/N replied simply because that was all she could think of. She was suddenly very tired and leaned her head back against the bricks and closed her eyes. 

“Hey now, none of that,” Steve said, his hands going to cup her cheeks, gently coaxing her eyes open. “Stay awake until they check you for a concussion.”

“Sorry,” Y/N said weakly. “How long should it take for an ambulance to get here? It’s been forever.”

“It’s only been a couple of minutes,” Steve replied, glancing at his watch. “I think I hear the siren now.” Sure enough, an ambulance siren pierced the night air and the flashing lights were soon hurting Y/N’s eyes. Paramedics rushed to them and took the information Steve provided about what had happened and Y/N was quickly whisked away to the nearest medical facility. Y/N hadn’t ever been to an emergency room that she could remember so she didn’t really know what to expect. They took her from the ambulance right into a private room, Steve close behind. They wouldn’t let him ride in the ambulance so he had followed behind on his motorcycle. The nurse came in to make a quick assessment and Y/N exchanged Steve’s jacket for a clean scrub top. 

“Thank you, Steve Rogers,” Y/N said, her voice stronger now. Steve just smiled and pulled his jacket back over his t-shirt and jeans. Y/N thought that he might want to talk to whomever helped him buy clothes, he clearly had no clue that his shirt was at least one size too small. The nurses and doctor came and went. Tests were conducted and Y/N was not diagnosed with a concussion, just bumps and bruises and a wrenched shoulder from being jerked around. 

Police officers showed up and Y/N and Steve both gave a statement about what had happened. Deadpool had stayed with the tied up men until the police arrested them and then conveniently disappeared. Y/N was told to go to the police station tomorrow if she wanted to press charges against the men. Steve stood sentry in the hall until Y/N was released and sent home with instructions to rest all weekend. 

“Can I give you a ride home?” he asked. 

“I would like that but I don’t think I can ride on a motorcycle with this hurt shoulder,” Y/N replied, smiling into those blue eyes. “I’ll just catch a cab.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Steve questioned, almost asking if he could follow the cab just to make sure she was safe. Y/N was the bravest woman he had come across in a long time, she didn’t really seem phased by the events of the night. In his mind, she should be a quivering mess of fear, not wanting to be alone, but she wasn’t. 

“I’ll be fine, Steve, thank you so much for saving me,” she replied.

“Anytime,” Steve replied with a grin and then immediately corrected himself. “I mean, not that I want you to go through that again but it was my pleasure to be able to help.” He seemed to falter as he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, knowing he wasn’t saying things right.

“I know what you mean, Steve,” Y/N laughed lightly, placing her hand on his arm. “Thanks again.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Steve said as he pressed a piece of paper from a hospital notepad into her hand with his cell number scratched across it. She shoved it into the pocket on her scrub top and turned away from him with a smile playing across her lips. 

Y/N walked out to the street, caught a cab, gave her address, and leaned her head back on the seat with a sigh. What a night.


	3. Chapter 3

Y/N woke suddenly in a cold sweat, her breathing erratic. She frantically looked around the room to make sure she knew where she was. She was in her own bedroom. She threw the sheet aside and ran out into her hallway and confirmed that she was in her own apartment. Alone. She had just had the most lucid dream she had ever had in her life and it had not been pleasant. She had been strapped to a table in some kind of basement with needles being shoved into her arms and legs, some kind of serum burning as the plungers pushed it into her system.

“It was just a dream,” Y/N told the empty kitchen. “There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

Y/N went about her normal Saturday morning routine of making coffee and pancakes and reading the paper, being careful with her still hurting shoulder. Skipping the front page news for the human interest stories, Y/N read about a penguin that had escaped his exhibit at the Bronx Zoo and explored a little bit of the zoo before he was caught. The picture was of the most adorable penguin looking a little put out about having his photo taken. After breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, Y/N laid down on the couch, still exhausted from last night. She fell asleep quickly and began to dream about the penguin. She saw him in his exhibit. He looked at her through the glass, waddled up to her, and pecked his beak against the glass. Y/N crouched down so that she was nearly eye to eye with the animal. She looked into its dark eyes and felt like she was falling, falling, falling until she jerked awake. 

Letting out a breath, Y/N moved to sit up but her feet didn’t touch the floor. Looking down, she didn’t see her feet, she saw the flipper feet of the penguin! She reached her hands out to touch the feet but her hands were now the flipper wings of the penguin. 

“What the hell?” her normal voice said through the penguin beak. Logically, Y/N knew she should be fully panicked and screaming, but for some reason, her brain just wouldn’t allow it. It’s almost as if her brain shrugged and said “so you’re a penguin, big deal”. 

“I don’t want to be a penguin,” Y/N said out loud, hoping her brain would hear her. 

“So change back,” her brain responded. 

“How?” Y/N asked. 

“Want to,” her brain answered nonchalantly. Y/N closed her eyes, concentrated on herself, knowing and accepting what she looked like and after a wave of dizziness, when she opened her eyes again she was herself. 

“Oh. My. God. What the ever-loving hell just happened?” Y/N asked the empty room, still not panicked. Was it a dream? Was she still dreaming? Y/N pinched herself. No, she wasn’t dreaming. But seriously, what was going on? Did she actually just turn into a penguin? Stranger things have happened, Y/N supposed, but still, a penguin!? More curious than anything, Y/N thought about another animal, Sandy, a golden retriever that she had when she was a kid. She had loved that dog more than anything else and when her parents told her that it had died, it had crushed her young heart. Y/N went back into her bedroom and pulled out an old picture album and found a picture of the Sandy. She stared at the picture, into Sandy’s soulful brown eyes. Nothing happened. Y/N tried harder, not just staring into the picture’s eyes, but envisioning in her mind playing with Sandy as a child, bathing Sandy, pouring her young heart out to Sandy. Y/N closed her eyes and let her brain take over since it seemed to have a mind of its own anyway. She pictured herself staring into Sandy’s eyes and Sandy staring back. Y/N felt like she was falling and snapped her eyes open to find herself on the floor. Looking down at her hands, she saw fury, tan paws. 

“Oh my god, I’m a dog!” Y/N’s voice filled the empty room. 

“Of course you are, that’s what you wanted to be, wasn’t it?” her brain answered impatiently. 

“Ummm. I want to be human now,” Y/N said and closed her eyes, focused on her human form, and after another wave of dizziness, she stood fully human. Another wave of dizziness and nausea rolled over her and Y/N fell back against her bed. She lifted a hand to wipe at sweat on her face but her hand came back bloody. Y/N hauled herself up and into the bathroom to discover her nose bleeding. Y/N frowned and started cleaning up her face. Her thoughts whirring a mile a minute and the questions began rolling in.

She could turn into a dog and a penguin. What else could she be?  
What happened to her clothes when she turned? She wasn’t a dog wearing pajamas, so her clothes had either turned with her or just disappeared.   
Her shoulder hurt when she was a dog and a penguin, so if she got hurt as an animal, would she still be hurt as a human?  
Why wasn’t she freaking out about this? Shouldn’t she be freaking out? Or at least a little unnerved? Why did her brain seem so accepting, as if it wasn’t surprised? And why did her brain seem to be an entity separate from herself? 

More and more questions kept coming, such that Y/N had to lay back down in her bed. She had always been comforted by laying in bed with a heavy blanket over her. She had even made herself a weighted blanket that helped to ground her when she was snuggled under it. Y/N got so comfortable under her blanket that she quickly feel to sleep. 

When she woke again, it was because of a clap of thunder as a storm raged outside. It was dark, she had slept the entire day. Y/N’s eyes popped open with only one thought it in her head. Steve Rogers. She needed to get to Steve. He lived in a world full of strange things and surely he or one of the other Avengers or scientists could help her. But did she want to become someone’s science project? Steve wouldn’t let that happen. Dragging herself out of bed, she pulled the piece of paper with his number from her discarded scrub top and then realized that she had no phone to call him with. Oh well, only one thing to do. Go to Stark Tower and hope he was there. 

Y/N quickly got dressed in jeans, t-shirt, hoodie, and sneakers. She stuffed a few things into a large purse, including Sandy’s picture, and ran out of her apartment building into the storm. She was drenched by the time she got a cab and the time it took to go from the cab door to under the awning at Stark Tower drenched her again. Her hair hung in weird wet strings around her shoulders. Walking slowly into the very polished lobby of the tower, Y/N’s wet sneakers squeaked with each step across the pristine floor. 

“May I help you, ma’am?” a security guard at the desk questioned her suspiciously. 

“Umm, yes please,” Y/N began, slightly intimidated by the large man. “I need to see Steve Rogers please.”

“You and much of the female population of the city,” the guard quickly retorted with a frown. Y/N frowned back. 

“Look,” she began. “I know I look like a drowned rat but Steve helped me last night and gave me his phone number but my phone is smashed so I can’t call him and I need his help again. So, please, may I at least use your phone to call him?”

“He gave you his cell number?” the guard questioned with narrowed eyes. 

“Yes, see?” Y/N held up the soggy paper with Steve’s number on it. The guard’s eyebrows raised slightly and he turned his phone toward her and gestured her to go ahead. Y/N picked up the receiver and carefully dialed the number. 

One ring. The guard stared hard at her. 

Two rings. The guard’s eyebrows raised a little bit. 

Three rings. Just as the guard’s mouth opened to say something, a deep “hello” came through the receiver. 

“Steve, this is Y/N from last night,” Y/N gushed, so happy someone had answered the phone. “I’m in the lobby and I need your help one more time please.”

“Um, Steve’s in a meeting right now,” said the voice. “But I’ll come get you and you can wait up here. He should be free in a little while.”

“Oh, okay, thank you.” Y/N slowly hung up the phone. “Someone’s going to come down to get me.” she told the guard. 

“You can wait over there,” he pointed to a small grouping of plush chairs in the corner. 

“I’m still dripping wet, I’ll just stand,” Y/N replied but still walked over to the glass wall that separated the spotless lobby from the dirty New York streets. Y/N hoped that Steve would be able to help and whoever would come get her would be someone nice. Y/N could handle rude people but that didn’t mean that she wanted to on a regular basis. Looking at her reflection in the dark glass, she wondered at her body, at it’s strange, new ability to change into an animal. Y/N wondered again where her clothes went when she changed. The air conditioning turned on and an involuntary shiver noticeably streaked down her soaked body. 

“Excuse me, Y/N?” a voice behind Y/N broke her from her thoughts. She turned and found herself face to face with Sam Wilson.


	4. Chapter 4

“Um, uh, yes?” Y/N replied to Sam Wilson. 

“Hi,” Sam replied with a wide grin. “I’m Sam. Steve told me about what happened last night, he will be glad you are here, he was pretty concerned.”

“Oh, good,” Y/N replied before she thought. “I mean, not good that he was concerned, just good that he won’t be mad I showed up.”

“Nah, he’s not like that,” Sam answered, gesturing her towards the elevators. “Come on up, you look like you could use a towel and a hot drink.”

“Oh um, I don’t want to be any trouble, but I guess I am kinda cold,” Y/N replied, following Sam into the shiny elevator and watched as he placed his hand against a panel that looked entirely ordinary. The doors closed and they were whisked up the tower. 

“So, Steve should be out of his meeting in a little while, but until then, how about we find you some dry clothes and have a cup of hot tea or something?” Sam asked as he led Y/N off the elevator into a large living room area. 

“Um, well, I’ll be okay with just a towel or something,” Y/N started, wrapping her arms around her middle even though it pulled on her wrenched shoulder.

“Nonsense.” Sam replied firmly. “You came here for help and help comes in all forms. Just hang out here for a second and I’ll be right back.”

Sam walked down a hallway and out of sight before Y/N could respond. Help. She had never really needed help that she could recall so she had a hard time accepting it when it was given. Looking around the living area, it was warm and inviting but Y/N didn’t sit because she didn’t want to get any of the couches wet. They all looked expensive.

“Here ya go,” Sam returned quickly and handed Y/N a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. “I think these should fit you reasonably. You can change in the bathroom right over there and I’ll get some tea started.”

Y/N hesitated. 

“Problem?” Sam asked, his arms folding over his chest and his eyebrows raised. 

“Um, no. I just-- um… thank you,” Y/N replied softly, not really sure why Sam’s kindness was giving her pause. 

“You’re welcome,” Sam answered with a smile and gave her a gentle push toward the bathroom. Y/N walked in and closed the door and locked it. She quickly stripped off her soaked hoodie, t-shirt, jeans, shoes and socks and draped the wet clothes over the shower curtain rod. She ran her fingers through her wet hair but in the end just decided that it was what it was. She had never been what people would call a traditional beauty but she was content with herself. Stepping into the sweatpants, she pulled the drawstring tight and the hoodie hung down nearly to her knees. She rolled the sleeves up until she found her hands and left it at that. 

Stepping back into the living room, she found Sam sitting on a couch with two mugs of tea on the coffee table. Y/N joined him on the other end of the couch. 

“Well, you should be warmer in those at least,” Sam commented. Y/N looked down at the hoodie and saw a graphic of a bow and arrow with a purple hawk-like mask behind them. 

“Who’s clothes am I wearing?” she asked, pretty sure there could only be one answer.

“Clint Barton,” Sam answered, handing her a mug of tea. “He and Nat are away on a mission right now so he’s not likely to need them.”

“He wears his own fan clothes?” Y/N asked, warming her hands on the hot mug. 

“Yup,” Sam laughed easily. Y/N let herself giggle at the thought of an Avenger wearing their own fan paraphernalia when a deep voice sounded behind her.

“What’s funny?” Steve asked as he strode into the room from the elevator. Y/N jumped and put her mug back on the table. Standing she turned to face Steve. 

“Um, hi,” she said nervously. 

“Y/N,” Steve said starting to smile but the smile quickly morphed into a deep frown of concern as he stepped toward her. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Why didn’t you call me? And why are you wearing Barton’s ridiculous clothes?”

“Whoa, big guy,” Sam interrupted when Y/N faltered to answer Steve’s questions. “I can answer most of that, y’all sit down.”

Y/N returned to her spot on the end of the couch while Steve sat across from her, elbows resting on his knees and his eyebrows drawn up in concern. 

“Y/N did call you, but you left your cell with me while you were in that meeting,” Sam began. “She said she needs help and since she was soaking wet when she got here, I decided the first help needed to be dry clothes. Barton’s the smallest except for Nat and you can’t pay me to go into her room.”

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Steve asked again after taking in Sam’s explanations. 

“Yes, mostly,” Y/N answered. “I mean, my shoulder is still sore but I have a problem and I’m not sure what to do about it.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded. “Tell me. Do you want Sam to leave?”

“No, no, please stay Sam,” Y/N responded quickly, putting hand out to tell Sam to stay seated. “I just don’t know how to explain this. Um… I guess blunt is the best way…. Ummmmm…. I… seem to be able to…. I mean… I did twice anyway… I can…”

“Just say it, Y/N,” Sam instructed gently. 

“I can turn into a penguin and a dog,” Y/N blurted quickly and then held her breath waiting for the reaction. 

Steve and Sam looked at each other. A clock on the wall ticked five times in the silence. 

“So you literally changed into a penguin and a dog?” Sam asked. Y/N nodded wordlessly. 

“Like Banner turns into Hulk?” Sam questioned again. 

“I wasn’t green or angry,” Y/N shook her head. 

“Has this ever happened before?” Steve asked. 

“No, today was the first time and I wasn’t even trying to turn into the penguin.” Y/N explained. “I had read a story about a penguin escaping at the Bronx Zoo and then I fell asleep, dreamed about the penguin, and then woke up a penguin.”

“I bet that was terrifying,” Sam said comfortingly. 

“It should have been,” Y/N agreed. “But I wasn’t. I got curious and found a picture of my old dog and turned into her. But when I turned back into me, my nose was bleeding and I was really dizzy and nauseous. I fell asleep again.”

“Okay,” Steve said, his face brokering no argument. “No more shape shifting until we get some tests run. I don’t want you hurting yourself.” He stood and reached into his pocket, finding nothing, he looked around confused. 

“Looking for this?” Sam asked, tossing Steve’s cell to him

“Oh, yeah thanks,” Steve replied, easily catching the cell and dialing a number. “Dr. Banner, we have some questions that maybe you can answer. Can you meet us in your lab?” 

Steve remained silent as he listen to Banner. 

“Okay, first thing in the morning then,” Steve replied. “Thank you.” He hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket. “Dr. Banner isn’t available until the morning and since it’s so late and still storming outside, Y/N, would you mind staying the night here?”

“H-here?” Y/N asked, looking around the room, mentally calculating which couch might be the most comfortable to sleep on. Her shoulder wasn’t going to love sleeping on a couch. 

“Well, not literally in this room, we have a guest room,” Sam answered as if he could read Y/N’s mind. 

“Oh right, well, um, I guess that would be okay,” Y/N answered with a nod. 

“Great!” Sam grinned while Steve just looked pleased. “I will have your clothes cleaned and dried so that you don’t have to be a Hawkeye fan any longer than necessary.”

“Thank you so much,” Y/N replied. Sam stood and went to grab her clothes from the bathroom and make sure the guest room was ready. Steve sat down on the couch next to Y/N. 

“I’m glad you came to us for help,” he confided in her softly. “I was trying to figure out how I was going to see you again. I didn’t get your number and I didn’t know if you would call. Did you go to the police station today and press charges against those men?”

Y/N paled slightly as she realized that she totally forgot to do that. “I didn’t,” was all she could get out.

“Do you want to press charges?” He asked. 

“I think I should,” Y/N said thoughtfully. 

“I agree,” Steve answered. “How about I call down there right now and let them know that you will come down in the morning? I’ll go with you.”

“That would be good,” Y/N smiled. “Thank you, Steve.”

“My pleasure,” Steve answered, smiling into her eyes and getting a little lost. 

“Sorry to interrupt the staring fest y’all have going here but your room’s ready, Y/N,” Sam’s voice broke through their staring and Y/N stood. 

“Um, well, goodnight and thanks again,” she said to Steve and let Sam lead her back to the guest room. 

By the time Steve was off the phone with the police station, Sam had returned.

“She settled?” Steve asked.

“I think so,” Sam replied. “So what do you think?”

“She’s, well, she’s nice,” Steve began as he flopped back onto a sofa. “I like her.”

“I meant the turning into animals part,” Sam sat next to Steve with a huff. “But it’s nice that you like her. It’s about time someone caught your eye.”

“I think she’s telling the truth,” Steve replied confidently.

“So do I,” Sam answered. Neither men knew exactly what to do with Y/N but knew that they needed to help her get answers tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

Long after Sam went to bed, Steve sat up at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He didn’t need much sleep and tonight he couldn’t get his mind to slow down enough to even think about sleep. It also didn’t help that his bedroom was the furthest away from Y/N and he wanted to stay near her. He let his eyes roam a newspaper in an attempt to down out his thoughts when he heard a faint wimper. He stood and moved silently into the hallway, letting his super soldier ears find the origin of the noise. After a few seconds of silence, the wimper sounded again from Y/N’s room. Not wanting to infringe upon her privacy but needing to make sure she was okay, he quietly cracked her door open enough to see inside. His eyes adjusted to the dark quickly and then widened in surprise. 

Y/N was sleeping, there was no doubt about that. And dreaming about a dog apparently because that’s what she was. A golden retriever. A beautiful, sleeping golden retriever who was whimpering slightly and jerking it’s paws the way dogs do when they dream of running. Unsure what to do, Steve hesitated in the doorway until he felt a presence next to him. 

“What’s going on?” Bucky whispered, his eyes not leaving the bed. “When did we get a dog?”

“We didn’t, that’s the woman I told you about last night,” Steve replied, pulling Bucky out of the doorway and silently closing the door. He moved Bucky into the kitchen so they wouldn’t have to whisper. 

“You do realize that’s a dog right?” Bucky asked. 

“Well, she is right now, but normally that’s Y/N, human,” Steve explained. “I guess I ought to find out what her last name is at some point.”

“So that’s Y/N?” Bucky asked, trying to wrap his head about what was happening. “And she’s not normally a dog?”

“No, she’s a shapeshifter,” Steve said, “but she’s a new shapeshifter and she came to me for help.”

“Who else knows?” Bucky asked, his mind filling with the possibilities. 

“Just us and Sam, I think,” Steve answered, sitting back down at the kitchen table. 

“Well,” Bucky said, sitting across from Steve, “I think we might consider a few possibilities and options.” Steve and Bucky sat up the rest of the night talking about Y/N. What her powers could mean to her, to the Avengers, and to the world. But they mostly talked about how to protect her. The ability to shapeshift could mean that her life would be in danger if the wrong people discovered her. They laid out a plan between the two of them for Y/N, given that her powers allowed her to be more than a penguin and a dog. 

By the time the sun came up, Y/N was exhausted. She thought she had slept but her dreams were so steady and lucid, she felt like she had been running all night long. She sat up in the bed and rubbed a hand down her face. No use trying to go back to sleep, there was too much to do today and too many questions left unanswered. Y/N dragged herself into the adjoining bathroom and was delighted to find a brand new toothbrush and toothpaste by the sink. Glancing into the shower, she saw it was fully stocked with soap, shampoo, and conditioner. A light knock sounded on the outer door and she went back into the bedroom and cracked the door open to discover her clothes, clean and dry, in a bag hanging on the door handle. Taking the bag, she quickly went back into the bathroom for a hot shower. 

Clean, dry, and dressed, Y/N pulled her hair into a bun on her head and shoved a pencil she found in the bedroom through it and went to find some coffee. Opening her door, she followed her nose to the kitchen where she found not only coffee, but bacon and two men. 

“Morning,” she said softly with a small smile, a little unsure. 

“Good morning, Y/N,” Sam called from his place in front of the stove. “This is Bucky.”

Bucky moved from standing in front of the coffee pot and politely reached out to shake her hand. Y/N’s small hand was engulfed in Bucky’s metal hand as he shook her hand gently. 

“Coffee?” Bucky asked, gesturing to the pot with his flesh hand. 

“Oh, yes please,” Y/N responded. Bucky poured her a cup and, after showing her where the cream and sugar were, hopped up on an empty space of counter with his own coffee cup.

“How did you sleep?” Sam asked as he flipped the bacon. 

“I don’t know,” Y/N answered, taking Bucky’s cue and hopping up on the counter next to him. Bucky’s eyebrows raised, impressed that she felt comfortable enough to sit right next to him. Most people sat across the room. 

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked. 

“I mean, I dreamt a lot last night. I feel like I ran all night,” Y/N explained, sipping her coffee. 

“Well, Y/N,” Sam said, turning to face them, “but I think you might have been more active than you think.”

“Huh?” Y/N asked. 

“Steve heard some noise in your room so he glanced in to check on you, and ummm, well…” Sam hesitated. 

“You were a dog,” Bucky said bluntly. 

“A golden retriever to be specific,” Steve said from the kitchen door, his hair wet from the shower. “What were you dreaming about, Y/N?”

“I-I was dreaming about running around with Sandy, a dog I had when I was a kid,” Y/N replied. “Sandy started chasing something and I ran after her but I couldn’t catch up.”

“What was she chasing?” Bucky asked.

“I don’t know,” Y/N responded, thinking hard about her dream. “Something big and dark. I was worried it was some kind of bear. Does it matter?”

“Maybe,” Sam shrugged. “Breakfast is ready!” 

The four fell into an easy companionship during breakfast. The men joked and teased each other and Y/N, like she belonged with them. Once the food was eaten and kitchen straightened, they all went in search of Bruce. They found him in his lab mumbling to himself in front of a computer screen. 

“Dr. Banner,” Steve got his attention. Bruce turned and nodded to the three men and his eyes rested curiously on Y/N.

“Hello, I’m Bruce Banner,” Bruce introduced himself. 

“Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you,” Y/N replied with a smile. She liked him immediately. Bruce had such a calming voice and was clearly gentle. 

“What can I do for you all?” he asked the group. 

“Well, Y/N has come to us for help,” Steve began. “She is apparently a shapeshifter and it just started yesterday.”

“Shapeshifter?” Bruce asked, pushing his glasses up on his face. “What shapes have you taken?”

“A penguin and a dog,” Y/N answered. “But the only one that I did on purpose was the dog.” Y/N explained what had happened in her apartment and the dreams that she’s been having, leaving out the dream about being strapped to a table with needles in her arms and legs. Steve and Bucky explained seeing her as a dog last night in her sleep. 

“Interesting,” Bruce’s eyes lit up. “May I get some scans of you?”

“Sure,” Y/N complied easily. Bruce had her up on a table quickly and FRIDAY was scanning her up and down efficiently. Bruce started mumbling to himself as he began to read over the scans. Y/N sat up on the table and turned so that her feet hung over the side. Steve moved to sit next to her. 

“FRIDAY,” Bruce called, “tell Tony I need him.”

“Right away, Sir,” FRIDAY replied. Y/N looked around for the voice for a second until Steve whispered “automated intelligence” in her ear. Y/N nodded and murmured “fancy” while watching Bruce continue to mumble over the scans. The doors slid open to admit someone Y/N knew on sight: Tony Stark.

“What’s up, Brucie?” he asked, ignoring everyone else in the room once his eyes caught a glimpse of the scans Bruce was examining. “Oh, fun.” The two men flicked at the screens for a while, moving images and outlines this way and that. Turning things upside down and backwards, mumbling to each other the entire time.

Finally, Tony turned from the screens and rolled on a stool over to sit in front of Y/N and Steve.

“Hi, I’m Tony,” he started, speaking very quickly. “These scans are very interesting for many reasons but the most interesting to me is in your chemistry. Tell me, do you ever get scared?”

“Well, sure, doesn’t everybody?” Y/N shrugged.

“No, really think,” Tony urged. “Think back to the night you were attacked. Steve told us all about it. Were you scared when those men dragged you into the ally? Were you actually afraid for your life?”

“I was hurt, I didn’t want it to be happening” Y/N said thoughtfully, closing her eyes and letting her mind go back over the events of that night. Bruce placed a heart rate monitor on Y/N’s wrist and a screen lit up with Y/N’s heart rate. It was steady. “I had been pushed down and against some walls, my shirt had been torn, I thought they were going to rape me.”

Her heart rate remained steady, no fluctuation at all. 

“Deadpool arrived and started fighting them,” Y/N continued with her eyes closed. “I ran but someone grabbed my arm and threw me against the wall again. I hit my head hard, then I fell down again.”

“But did you feel fear?” Tony pushed. Y/N eyes popped open in surprise. 

“No,” Y/N whispered. “Why wasn’t I scared?”

“Can you ever remember being afraid? Ever in your life? Most people can think of at least one time pretty easily,” Bruce asked.

“After a nightmare, I woke up in a cold sweat and breathing heavy,” Y/N supplied, searching for something normal. 

“But you can’t think of any time when you were afraid and awake?” Bruce pushed harder. 

“I can’t,” Y/N whispered. “What’s wrong with me?”


	6. Chapter 6

Tony and Bruce muttered words like “adrenal suppression” and “intentionally specific” before Steve pulled Y/N from the lab. 

“Thanks for getting me out of there,” Y/N said as he walked her down a long hallway. “I needed a break from the science twins.”

“You’re welcome,” Steve chuckled. “Besides, you and I have someplace to be.”

“We do?” Y/N asked.

“The police station,” Steve replied. 

“Oh, right,” Y/N nodded. “I was hoping you meant someplace nice.”

“I’ll make it worth your while,” Steve promised with a mischievous glint in his eyes, holding a car door open for her to get in. 

“That sounds promising,” Y/N smiled and hopped into the car. Their trip to the police station was as uneventful as one would imagine that sort of thing to be. Y/N filed formal charges against all five men and was told that the police would be in touch. After getting back into the car with Steve, Y/N’s curiosity got the better of her. 

“Where are we going?” she asked. 

“Don’t you trust me?” Steve asked in reply. 

“Clearly I do or I wouldn’t be here,” Y/N shot back at him with a smile. Steve merely smiled in reply. Taking in his profile as he drove, Y/N was struck with how perfect he was. Everything from the top of his head to the tips of his toes seemed to be perfect. It was at that moment that Y/N was struck with how intensely imperfect she was. Her body wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t the stick-thin type that society told her was beautiful, she had curves. She didn’t live on salad and steamed chicken breast, she ate what she wanted. Looking out the window watching buildings pass by, her brain seemed to think this was a good time for a chat.

“What are you doing here?” Her brain asked. 

“Trying to get help,” Y/N answered silently to herself. 

“And you think this beefcake is the way to go?” Her brain retorted. 

“He certainly seems willing to help,” Y/N replied with a mental shrug. “And it helps that he’s so pretty.”

“He could take care of us, that’s for sure,” her brain supplied. “But at what cost? What will he want in return?”

“Good question,” Y/N nodded. The movement must have caught Steve’s eye because his large hand suddenly rested over Y/N’s. 

“What’s going on over there?” He asked softly. 

“Just having a conversation with myself,” Y/N replied cheekily. 

“Anything I should know about?” Steve asked, taking a right hand turn and finding a parking spot. 

“Well, my brain seems to think that you can help me but that you’ll want something in return,” Y/N answered, unsure of where the blunt honesty had come from. 

“Well, your brain is not wrong,” Steve answered, turning the car off and twisting in his seat toward Y/N. “I do want something from you.”

“What do you want?” Y/N whispered, her eyes growing large. 

“I want something very special,” Steve said softly as he stared into Y/N’s eyes. “I want you to have lunch with me at that little diner over there.”

Y/N laughed and turned to see a tiny hole-in-the-wall diner tucked in between two much larger and newer buildings.

“I have never seen this place before and I know I have walked down this street,” Y/N said as she got out of the car. 

“It’s easy to miss unless you’re looking for it,” Steve replied, taking her hand and leading her across the street. He seated them in a corner booth where he could see the door and entire diner. After ordering their lunch, a comfortable silence rested on the table until Y/N finally broke it. 

“Steve,” she started. “I just wanted to make sure that you know now just how much I appreciate your help.” 

“I know, Y/N,” Steve laid his hand over hers on the table. “And I want you to know that my help doesn’t stop here. Bucky and I talked most of the night about how we are going to help you, protect you, and make sure that you have every opportunity to develop your powers.”

“What does that look like exactly?” Y/N asked. 

“Well, for starters, I would like you to consider moving into the Tower,” Steve said softly, not wanting to sound like he was commanding her to action. “I think that you will be safer there and there are people at Stark’s disposal who can help you.”

“But I have a lease,” Y/N replied. “And a job, and friends.”

“Stark will take care of the lease,” Steve was confident of this even though he hadn’t talked to Tony at all about this yet. He paused as the waiter set their lunches in front of them.

“Steve?” Y/N plucked thoughtfully at her sandwich with one hand while her other hand clutched her napkin on the table. 

“Yeah?” Steve replied around a mouth full of his lunch. 

“Why do I need to be protected?” she whispered, not looking away from her plate.

Steve swallowed his mouthful of food and released her crumpled napkin from her fingers to link his through hers. “Because there are powerful people in this world who would take what you can do and twist it for their own purposes, hurting you in the process. I’ve seen it happen to people with lesser powers than yours and I don’t want that for you.”

“But you hardly know me,” Y/N replied. 

“I would like to change that too,” Steve answered, his eyes searching her face for any hesitation, his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of her hand. 

“Apparently I don’t know myself as well as I thought I did,” Y/N said, pausing to think and bite her lower lip. “I want to figure these powers out, know why I have them, and maybe put them to some good use. I want to get to know you better too, Steve, but I don’t know how fast I can go while figuring all this out.”

“I’m here for you, Y/N,” Steve replied, his voice strong with conviction. “Whatever that looks like, I’m here for you.”

Y/N smiled and the two finished their lunch in a comfortable companionship that neither had known for quite a while. 

Back at the tower, Bruce and Tony called them to be the lab as soon as they arrived. Tony was practically vibrating with excitement. Bruce was pacing thoughtfully. 

“What did you discover?” Steve asked as Bucky and Sam also entered the lab. 

“Well,” Tony began, spinning on his stool. “Our new friend here has some very interesting things going on. First, the shapeshifting is always super cool. Second, the adrenaline suppression is very high tech. And third, she is actually signed. Like a painting.”

“Excuse me?” Y/N asked, looking from Tony to Bruce. “I think I need more explanation on every single one of those points.”

“Okay, let’s start with number two, it’s easier to explain,” Tony gestured to Bruce who picked up the explanation. “Keep it simple, Brucie.”

“Well, we all know what adrenaline does for us when we are scared or excited,” Bruce started. “But in your case, Y/N, your body is only producing enough adrenaline to keep your body functioning properly. From what you’ve told us and the scans FRIDAY is still analyzing, you do not experience any spikes in adrenaline and that’s not natural.”

“What do you mean, Dr. Banner?” Steve pushed back. 

“I need to run some more tests, but so far it looks like Y/N’s body’s ability to produce adrenaline in certain situations has been suppressed, deliberately” Bruce responded as he fidgeted with his pen. 

“How is that possible?” Bucky asked. 

“When we get scared, our bodies produce a certain set of chemicals to cause our reaction to a fright and then our adrenaline spikes. When Y/N’s body begins to secrete those chemicals, her adrenaline doesn’t get added to the mix. That’s why Y/N can’t put a finger on any time when she was legitimately frightened.”

“Okay,” Y/N waved a hand in the air to stop the conversation. “Let’s step away from the how question and ask ‘why’ and ‘who’ did this to me. You said you thought it was deliberate.”

“I don’t know why yet,” Tony put in, spinning back on his stool toward the screen. “But that leads me to point number three. You, my dear, are signed.” 

He flicked the scan of Y/N’s brain up onto the screen and flipped and manipulated it until it was upside-down and backwards. He zoomed in until he was nearly in the middle of her brain and a dark shape came into focus. It was distorted and merely an outline, but it was clear to the entire room. Bucky narrowed his eyes and tensed, Sam swore under his breath, Steve put his hand on Y/N’s shoulder as they all stared at the image of a skull with six octopus-like arms swooping out from it. HYDRA.


	7. Chapter 7

Y/N sat down hard into a chair. HYDRA. She wrapped her arms around her middle and began to unconsciously rock herself forward and backward, her head shaking slightly. Even as a civilian, Y/N knew what that symbol meant and couldn’t reconcile that with who she had always known herself to be. Voices spoke over her head as the room broke out into more and more questions, but they were merely rumblings of muffled thunder overhead. HYDRA. Had they created her? Had they programmed her? Was she going to turn into a kind of Winter Soldier and go on killing sprees? None of that made sense with who she thought she was. None of this felt real. 

Feeling disconnected from everything, even herself, Y/N silently stood. Steve’s hand had left her shoulder long ago. She stepped out into the hallway and began walking even though she wasn’t sure where she was going. She somehow managed to get back to the parking garage and started walking the up ramp to get to the street. Her mind numb to everything around her, her ears not hearing anything other than rumbling, her eyes seeing nothing but the rising floor. HYDRA. How could this be happening? 

Y/N walked, her eyes glued to the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach, until she bumped into something in her path. Someone. Looking up, she stared directly into Bucky’s frowning face. 

“Where ya headed, doll?” He demanded with a frown. Y/N merely shook her head as a single tear trickled down her cheek. 

“Steve,” Bucky said into his comm, or just the air, Y/N didn’t actually know. “I’ve got her. Meet me back in the lab, I think she’s going into shock.”

Bucky took Y/N’s hand and started to lead her back to the lab. Y/N followed but her feet suddenly felt as if they weighed a hundred pounds each and she slowed until she couldn’t move anymore. Bucky turned back, and carefully putting an arm under her knees and one around her back, he lifted her and carried her into Bruce’s lab. 

“What happened?” Steve asked, rushing to them and taking Y/N from Bucky’s arms. “Is she hurt?”

“I don’t think so,” Bucky answered, “I think it’s shock.”

Steve laid her down carefully on the small bed where FRIDAY began scanning her. Even though her eyes were open, Y/N wasn’t seeing the men buzz around her. Even though she could hear, their voices were miles away. Steve’s hands framed her face and moved until he was in her direct line of sight. 

“Y/N,” his voice said, muffled and far away. Y/N’s brain only caught every few words. “Bruce…. shot… shock…. sleep….” He moved closer until he was speaking directly into her ear and she heard every word. 

“I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise,” he said. Y/N tried to nod but his hands held her head firmly. Steve nodded to someone on the other side of her. A small sting on her arm and blessed darkness closed in and swept Y/N away from everything. 

Y/N was tied to a bed. No, not a bed. A metal gurney. Without sheets. Only one light was on and it was a bare bulb above her body casting a yellow circle of light around her. Without looking, Y/N knew she wasn’t alone. She was never alone. There was always someone watching. Waiting. Taking notes. The straps over her body were tight and painful but no amount of struggling would lose them. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” a voice sounded out of the darkness. “Are you ready to begin again, my dear?”

Without waiting for a response, the man flipped a switch and electricity shot through her body. It was just enough to cause pain. Y/N’s entire body tensed as the white lightning coursed through her limbs. 

“Please stop,” she begged as loudly as she could. 

“Stop what?” A disembodied voice asked. 

“Y/N, stop what?” Steve demanded. Y/N’s eye shot open to find that she was back in the bedroom she had slept in last night. In a soft bed, not tied down at all. Steve sat on the side of the bed, his hands on her shoulders, concern lining his forehead with wrinkles. Y/N pushed him away and ran into the adjoining bathroom where she promptly lost her lunch in the toilet. Steve knelt on the floor next to her and placed a comforting hand on her back and held her hair out of the way. Y/N threw up until her stomach was empty. Moving to the sink, Steve stood close by as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. 

“Are you okay?” He asked. 

“I think I’m done throwing up, if that’s what you mean,” Y/N answered weakly. 

“Not entirely but that is good to know,” Steve replied with a small smirk, helping Y/N sit back on the bed. It was dark outside the tall windows. Y/N sat and rested her elbows on her knees and her head in the hands. 

“What’s going to happen to me?” She asked quietly. “Am I HYDRA? Am I going to jail now? Why am I not in a cell already?”

“Hey, look at me,” Steve demanded softly. Y/N raised her face to him. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know what’s not going to happen. You’re not going to jail for having that symbol stamped inside your head.” 

“What if I’m a horrible monster?” Y/N asked. 

“I don’t see a monster,” Steve replied, his hands coming up to hold her face. “I see a beautiful, strong woman who needs help figuring out her past and her future.”

“What if other people see a monster?” Y/N’s hands wrapped around Steve’s wrists and held on. 

“Then I will fight them,” Steve replied stubbornly. Y/N couldn’t help but huff out a small chuckle. “What were you dreaming about, Y/N? You were talking in your sleep. You said, ‘please stop’. Stop what?”

“I was dreaming about being electrocuted,” Y/N replied. “It was enough to hurt but not enough to kill me.”

“That doesn’t make it sound any better, Y/N,” Steve replied with a frown. “Do you feel up to telling everyone about this?”

“I guess so,” Y/N shrugged. Steve smiled and pulled her to her feet. 

“Let me know if it gets to be too much and we will call it a night, okay,” he said as he led her from the room. Y/N silently nodded but Steve stopped her in the hallway with a hand to her cheek. “Promise me, Y/N.”

“I promise, Steve.” Y/N replied. When they entered the kitchen, everyone else was seated around the table, eating what looked like lasagna. Bucky saw them first and stood. 

“Are you okay, Y/N?” He asked and all heads turned to look at her, concern written across every face. 

“I think so,” Y/N replied. “Could I have something to drink though?”

“Like you have to ask,” Sam retorted as he stood and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge for her and set down a plate of food in front of her. They all sat down and Steve took over the impromptu meeting. 

“Alright,” he started. “Y/N, before you start telling us about your dreams, we have something we need you to know.”

Y/N nodded and waited, not sure who was going to begin. 

“We, um,” Tony cleared his throat and flicked his wrist around the table, gesturing to the group with his fork. “We want you to know that we want to help you. You clearly need it and we can provide resources and safety.”

“But we won’t force you,” Sam put in. “We just want you to know that the offer is open.”

“It’s your choice,” Bruce added softly, picking at his plate. 

“But we think you should stay,” Bucky said bluntly. Steve rolled his eyes at him. “What? We do!”

“You don’t have to decide right now,” Steve added. “But we would like to hear about your dream.”

Y/N took a steadying breath.

“I’ll start with the dream I had today. I don’t know what you gave me, Bruce, I slept hard but I also dreamed vividly,” she told them about her most recent dream and then about the dream she had had the night of the attack that started this whole mess. The men listened patiently, not saying anything. Only Bucky’s face betrayed any feelings towards her description of where she was held in her dreams. 

“I’m not sure what all this means,” Y/N concluded, “But since you are offering help, and since I know I desperately need help, I would like to take you up on your offer, but I have one condition.”

“Name it,” Steve said, sure he could manage anything Y/N might ask. The table grew quiet as all eyes trained on Y/N. She took a breath and spoke her heart. 

“If it turns out that HYDRA has more hold on me than we think right now, I need your promise, all of you, that you won’t let me hurt anyone,” Y/N made eye contact with every man at the table and stopped on Steve. “You have to stop me, no matter what that looks like, even if you have to kill me.”

“Y/N-” Steve started to interrupt. 

“No, Steve,” Y/N calmly put a hand on his hand. “I would rather die than hurt anyone, especially any of you. I need your word.”

“You have it,” Bucky responded with a hoarse crack in his voice. “I promise. And so do they.”

“Then I would be pleased to move into the tower and accept your offer of help,” Y/N said with a small smile, squeezing Steve’s hand, the tension around the table broke. 

Sam grinned. Tony clapped his hands and ordered FRIDAY to start preparations on Y/N’s room and moving her into the Tower. Bruce began making plans for all the tests he wanted to perform. Bucky smiled weakly, his mind taken back to his own days at HYDRA. Steve’s grin nearly split his face though. In the back of Y/N’s mind, she worried about possibly putting them in some kind of danger, just in case she was some evil HYDRA-made monster, but the promise in Steve’s smile pushed her to let those thoughts fly out of her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

When Tony planned something, it happened quickly. Y/N was moved out of the her apartment and into a suite in the Tower within two days. Bruce ran test after test, all while Y/N was in human form. When he was ready to run a test and have FRIDAY do comprehensive scans while Y/N turned and while she was an animal, a small crowd gathered to watch. No one had seen Y/N shift yet and there was excitement in the air. Steve was concerned about her, of course, but Bruce had concluded that she was in no danger and since she retained her own cognition while she was an animal, they were safe too. 

Y/N brought the picture of Sandy with her to the lab and when Bruce was ready, she stared into Sandy’s eyes, let her mind be consumed with thoughts of the dog, and felt herself falling. Steve gasped as he watched the air around Y/N become slightly silvery and swirl around her. After a deep breath and a some dizziness, Y/N looked up and see Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Tony all looking down at her from their seats in amazement. 

“Wow,” Y/N’s voice sounded from Sandy’s muzzle as she looked at herself in the large mirror Tony had brought in. “I’m a dog!”

“Yes, yes you are,” Tony said as his hands flew over the keyboard. Bruce was watching active scans on his own screen. 

“I’ve never seen myself as a dog before,” Y/N explained, turning around to take in her full appearance, wagging her tail just to see what it felt like. 

“How do you feel?” Steve asked. 

“Do you feel like a dog?” Bucky blurted. Sam punched him in the shoulder. 

“I feel like me,” Y/N answered. “I don’t have the urge to pee on hydrants or fetch a tennis ball, if that’s what you mean.”

“So, turning into a dog doesn’t give you the instincts of the dog,” Sam surmised.

“Apparently not,” Y/N’s doggy shoulders shrugged. She put her front paws on Steve’s knees and let her tongue loll out of the side of her mouth. “What do you think, Steve?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, doll, but you’re an adorable dog,” Steve laughed. “I’m having a hard time not scratching behind your ears.”

“Go ahead,” Y/N said. “It’ll be interesting to know what that feels like.”

Steve reached behind her head and stroked her soft fur, letting him fingers scratch behind her ears. 

“Well?” He asked. 

“It’s kinda nice,” Y/N laughed. “I think I need to practice being a dog though since I don’t seem to have many natural doggy instincts. But I have to admit, it’s kind of comfortable.”

“Comfortable being a dog?” Bucky asked. Y/N pulled her feet from Steve’s knees to the floor and trotted over to Bucky. She sat at his feet and rested her chin on his knee. Unable to resist, Bucky’s metal hand quickly rested on top of her head and pet her soft fur. “Maybe it’s because I have fur instead of clothes, but being an animal doesn’t feel strange or uncomfortable. I don’t feel squished into this dog body.”

“You’re really soft,” he exclaimed softly. 

“Okay, Y/N,” Bruce called, “I’m ready for you to change back now.”

Y/N left Bucky and trotted back under FRIDAY’s scanner and began to focus on her human self. As she turned back, Steve’s breath caught in his throat. She was always lovely to him, but watching her morph back into her true form caught him off guard. She slowly stood as the air shimmered around her. Fur turned into clothing, paws into her elegant hands, the soft fur on her head into her touchable hair, and dog snout into her beautiful face. Bucky watched Steve more than Y/N and smirked at his friend’s reaction. As Y/N stood to her full height, her body wavered slightly as dizziness slammed through her. Steve was quick to jump to his feet and put a steadying arm around her waist. 

“Do you feel up to trying to change into something larger now?” Tony asked. 

“Larger than me, you mean?” Y/N’s brow furrowed. “I’ve not done that before but I’ll try. What should I be?”

“How about this?” Bucky stepped forward with a picture pulled up on his phone. Steve frowned at him but Y/N smiled. 

“I’ll give that a try, Bucky,” Y/N agreed, indicating for Bucky to stand in front of her and hold the phone so that she could see the picture. “Are you ready to tackle me just in case I go crazy?”

“No one’s going to tackle you, doll,” Steve said, still frowning over Bucky’s suggestion. 

“Ready, Bruce?” Y/N called. Steve stepped back to give her plenty of room to change. 

“Anytime, Y/N,” Bruce replied, his hands hovering over his keyboard. Y/N took a few steadying breaths and studied the picture on Bucky’s phone. She stared into the animal’s eyes and let her mind take over. Instead of a falling sensation, Y/N felt almost like she was going up in a fast elevator. The dizziness hit harder but ended faster than before. Once her head stopped spinning, Y/N looked into the mirror and gasped. 

Snow white fur with black stripes met her gaze in the mirror. A long tail swished behind her before bumping into the wall softly. Y/N had morphed into a perfect adult White Bengal Tiger. 

“Wow,” Bucky whispered. 

“Y/N?” Steve called. 

“I’m a tiger,” Y/N replied softly, still staring at herself in the mirror. 

“How do you feel?” Bruce asked. 

“Strong, powerful,” Y/N answered, sitting her back end down and wrapping her tail around her paws looking every bit the gigantic housecat. Steve stepped around to stand in front of her and looked into her eyes. 

“Let me see that picture again, Bucky,” he instructed. Bucky handed Steve his phone. 

“Huh,” Steve said, looking from the picture to Y/N and back again. “Your eyes didn’t change color.”

“Oh,” Y/N turned to look more closely at herself in the mirror. “I wonder why.”

“FRIDAY should be able to tell us when the scans and final data are compiled,” Bruce mumbled as he continued to watch data stream across the screen. When it finally stopped, he turned to Y/N. “Alright, you can be human again.”

Y/N’s large tiger head nodded once, almost regally, and let out a long breath while letting her eyes slide closed and began to change. Steve stepped back as the air swirled around her in silver strands, now also tinged with purple. It was so thick he lost sight of Y/N until it began to clear and he saw her laying face down on the floor, fully human again. Once the swirls dissipated, Steve rushed to her side and carefully turned her onto her side. 

“Y/N?” he whispered. She moaned and opened her eyes, a few drops of blood hitting the floor from her nose. Steve pulled out his handkerchief and stopped the flow. 

“I’m okay,” Y/N said weakly. “That took more out of me than I thought it would. That was the dizziest I have ever felt.”

“Can you stand?” Steve asked. Y/N nodded and Steve wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist, lifting her easily and letting her rest against him but still stand on her feet. 

“Did you get everything you needed?” Y/N asked Bruce, giving Steve a grateful smile and leaning into him. 

“Yes, I think so,” Bruce answered, his eyes never leaving his screen. “It’ll take FRIDAY a little while to compile the data into something comprehensive.”

“Take the rest of the day off, Lassie,” Tony called. “And take the soldiers with you, we can work better without them looking over our shoulders.”

“Can’t you tell me anything?” Y/N asked. “Even just a little bit, maybe just an educated guess?”

Bruce scratched his chin as he stared at the screens and the massive amounts of data that FRIDAY was computing. 

“As best as I can figure right now,” he started. “Your powers are something like a muscle that hasn’t really been used yet. It’s weak, that’s why you have some dizziness and a bloody nose. It’s like you’ve over-exerted yourself.”

“So, you’re saying I need to use it more?” Y/N pushed. “To build up the ‘muscle’?”

“Yes,” Bruce agreed. “But carefully and under supervision. I would be interested to know what happens if you stay in animal form for a longer period of time. You might begin to develop some of that animal’s natural instincts. That’s about all I have.”

“Well, that’s plenty for now,” Steve said. “You need to rest, Y/N.”

“Cap has spoken,” Sam put in with a nod. Y/N chuckled and took a step but her leg gave out as dizziness overcame her. Steve swiftly scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the lab, Bucky and Sam trailing behind. 

“Steve,” Y/N said, “I can walk.”

“And I can carry you,” Steve replied with a smirk. “We both have talents.”

Bucky snorted as he followed them into the elevator to go back to the living floor. 

“I’m hungry,” Sam muttered. 

“Pizza?” Bucky suggested. “We could watch the next Star Wars movie, Steve hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Pizza and a movie sound good to you, doll?” Steve asked. 

“Best idea I’ve heard all day,” Y/N agreed, resting her head on Steve’s shoulder and missing the look of pride and joy that crossed his face as she snuggled into him. 

The three had Y/N situated on a comfy couch, wrapped in a blanket even though she told them she wasn’t cold, and stuffed with pizza. Before they were 15 minutes into the movie, Y/N was fast asleep on Steve’s shoulder. She was sleeping so hard that she didn’t budge when Steve’s phone rang and he spoke with someone for a few minutes. She only moaned a little bit when Steve carefully maneuvered her from his shoulder onto a pillow propped up on Bucky’s leg. She merely sighed in her sleep as Steve softly let his fingers trace down her cheek. Steve quietly charged Bucky and Sam to watch out for her while he was gone, promising to be back as fast as he could.


	9. Chapter 9

Three days. Steve had been gone for three days. Y/N was a little surprised at how much she missed him even though Bruce and Bucky kept her occupied. Bruce ran test after test, some with Y/N in her human form and some as various animals. He constantly monitored her heart rate, watched as her bone structure changed before his eyes and on the screens, and even took blood samples to test her DNA in various forms. Bucky was always handy for ideas of what to turn into next, although his favorite was Sandy. Y/N practiced daily with Bucky and Sam, turning into all sorts of animals, large and small. Although, the day she turned into a snake and made Sam scream like a girl made Tony put the kibosh on reptiles. The more she practiced, the easier it was to turn and the longer she stayed in the form of any one animal, the more she seemed to take on their instincts while still keeping her own cognition. 

On the fourth day Steve was gone, Clint and Natasha returned from their mission to find Bucky sitting in the living room with a golden retriever at this feet. 

“Cool!” Clint ran over to the dog and sat on the floor, rubbing his hands over the dog’s head. “When did we get a dog?”

“Um, Clint, no,” Bucky began but Natasha interrupted him.

“I can’t believe that Tony allowed this dog in the tower,” she said, sitting down next to Clint on the floor. “Who finally talked him into it?”

“Well, see, that’s the thing,” Bucky started again only to be interrupted by the ding of the elevator as the doors slid open to admit Sam. 

“Hey, it’s about time y’all are back!” Sam said to Clint and Natasha. “Tony said you’re both needed in the conference room for debriefing.”

“But look,” Clint gestured to Y/N. “We have a dog! Can’t it wait?”

“Nope,” Sam was firm and Clint and Natasha missed the smirk forming on his face. “The sooner you get down there the sooner you can come back and play with the dog.”

Clint groaned as Nat pulled him to his feet. “Okay, but I call dibs on playing fetch when I get back.”

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind Clint and Nat, Y/N returned to human form laughing and rolling on the floor. 

“Sam, that was hilarious!” Y/N said in between giggles. “I hope they’re not mad when they come back and there’s no dog."

“I have an idea,” Bucky’s eyes twinkled as he pulled up a picture on his phone. 

“Oh, nice one!” Sam agreed, looking over Bucky’s shoulder at the phone’s screen.

“Oh, that is just gorgeous!” Y/N said, taking the phone from Bucky. “I haven’t done this before, I wonder what instincts will pop up!”

“I can’t imagine it would be much different from the tiger, but are you sure you’re up to this?” Sam asked. “You were a dog for like three hours already today.”

“I think I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t stay too long,” Y/N assured them, giving the phone back to Bucky. He held it up so she could focus on the animal’s eyes and watched as the air swirled silver and purple around Y/N and then dissipated to reveal an eight-foot long, 250 pound black panther. 

“Hey,” Bucky said, looking from the picture to Y/N. “This cat has kind of yellowish eyes and yours are still your normal color.”

“I wish we could figure that out,” Y/N said, plopping her bottom down on the floor and making the floor shake a bit. “What should I do when they come back?”

“Here,” Sam said, moving some couch pillows aside, “lay on the couch and rest your head on the armrest. When Clint comes back in, pick up your head and growl at him.”

Y/N hopped up on the couch next to Bucky but turned away from him and lay down as Sam instructed. Her tail swish and smacked Bucky in the chest and then in the face.

“Doll,” Bucky laughed. “You’re beating me up here.”

“Oh, sorry Bucky,” Y/N answered, moving her tail to simply wrap around his waist. “If I don’t think about what my tail is doing, it kinda has a mind of its own.”

It didn’t take long for the elevator to ding again, letting Clint and Nat back into the living room. Nat stepped in first. Y/N lifted her head from the armrest so that she could be seen. 

“Oh,” Nat said, freezing where she stood. Clint, not paying any attention because he was whistling for the dog, slammed into the back to Nat.

“What--” he froze when Y/N bared her teeth and sent him a low growl. “Ohmygod.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Nat questioned Bucky and Sam as they nonchalantly sat in their seats, sipping coffee. “What the hell is going on here?”

Sam laughed from his chair and Bucky stood to pet the panther’s head. 

“This is Y/N,” Bucky explained, as if that would clear everything up. 

“Did Y/N eat the dog?” Clint asked, he still hadn’t moved a muscle from behind Nat. 

“Absolutely not!” Y/N’s voice echoed through the room from her panther mouth. 

“What the hell is going on?” Nat demanded again, starting to get angry. Sam and Bucky grinned and nodded at Y/N when she glanced back at them. With a nod and a sigh, the air swirled and Y/N’s human form stood from the couch to stand next to Bucky. She teetered only slightly but Bucky was quick to put a stabilizing arm around her. 

“Wow,” Clint whispered. 

“Hi,” Y/N said with a small lift of her shoulders. 

“I’m going to need an explanation.” Nat told the room in no uncertain terms. “Now.”

Bucky and Sam explained everything from start to finish. Y/N put in some details here and there but every time she spoke, Nat’s narrowed eyes landed coldly on her. Once the story was completely out, Clint sat down hard on a chair. It was late, he was tired, and something was bothering him throughout the story.

“So,” he started. “We don’t have a dog?” Nat smacked him on the back of his head. 

“Sorry, no,” Y/N replied, cringing at Nat’s scowl and deciding that she didn’t want to sit under Nat’s disapproving eyes anymore. “I think I’m going to turn in.”

Y/N quickly slipped out of the room and had to work very hard not to break into a full run on her way to her room. Closing the door quietly behind her, Y/N leaned back against it. She didn’t want to show how tired she was when Nat already looked ready to strangle her. Y/N had no idea why Nat seemed to instantly dislike her and she waffled between being determined to changing Nat’s mind about her or just simply ignoring Nat altogether. 

As soon as Y/N was out of earshot, Bucky glared at Nat. 

“What is your problem?” he growled at Nat.

“What do you mean?” Nat asked as she sat innocently on the couch that recently held a panther.

“Why were you glaring at Y/N?” Sam demanded. 

“I know better than most how easily men are taken in by a pretty face,” Nat explained. “I just want to do my own research to make sure her story checks out. The last thing we need in this place is a HYDRA infiltrator.”

“She’s not an infiltrator,” a strong voice sounded from the elevator that no one heard open. Steve stepped into the room, still in his dirty stealth uniform. “In fact, she needs our help more than ever now.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Good morning, Y/N,” FRIDAY’s voice boomed throughout Y/N’s room. Y/N had grown used to FRIDAY waking her whenever Bruce or Tony wanted to run another test. 

“G’morning,” Y/N mumbled politely as she rolled around in her bed, trying to detangle her legs from the sheet. “Who needs me this morning?”

“Captain Rogers,” FRIDAY responded. 

“He’s back?” Y/N asked excitedly as she finally freed herself from the sheet and ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed. 

“Yes, ma’am, he has returned and requests your presence in the kitchen,” FRIDAY replied. Y/N quickly stepped into her jeans and tossed on a long-sleeved t-shirt that she stole from Bucky. Stepping into a pair of flip-flops, she quickly made her way to the large kitchen. Stopping in the doorway, Y/N took a second to admire the view. Steve stood with his back to her, a white t-shirt straining to cover his wide shoulders, and jeans resting on his narrow hips. Unless her nose was playing tricks on her, there would soon be bacon. 

“G’morning,” Y/N said softly. Steve turned and smiled widely at her. 

“Well, good morning, sleepyhead,” he said. “I thought you were going to sleep all day, it’s nearly 10am.”

“Sorry,” Y/N responded, moving to the coffee pot to caffeinate herself. “I guess I was more tired than I realized.” 

“Well, I hope you got some good rest because I’m afraid that today might not be the easiest day,” Steve replied slowly as he turned off the burner and pulled the pan away. 

“What do you mean?” Y/N asked, her eyebrows drawn up into a worried frown. 

“Come to eat and I’ll explain as best I can,” Steve said, plating the bacon and a couple scrambled eggs. He set the plate on the counter and Y/N hopped up next to it and started eating slowly. Steve leaned his hip on the counter next to her so that he could watch her face as he spoke. 

“I’ve spent the last few days on a very specific mission,” he began softly. Y/N wondered if he was speaking so softly because he was worried about spooking her. “I have been looking for evidence of your past,” he continued, “trying to find out what happened, why HYDRA wanted you, and what we need to do to help you best.”

“And?” Y/N prompted, setting her half-empty plate to the side. She had eaten quickly and nervously. 

“I found something. It’s not much, but it’s a starting point.”

“What did you find?” Y/N asked, her hands running up and down her thighs anxiously. Steve moved in front of her and simultaneously grabbed her hands and pushed his hips between her knees. 

“Before I tell you,” Steve whispered, “I need to do something. Don’t hit me, okay?”

“I trust you, Steve,” Y/N nodded. 

Steve’s lips pulled up in a brief smile before he quickly and gently lowered them to hers. Y/N’s breath caught in her throat as Steve’s hands moved up her arms and over her shoulders to cup her jaw on both sides and tilt her head to deepen the kiss. Y/N’s hands found his waist and gripped his belt loops just to have something to hold on to as she responded to his kiss. His lips moved against hers, his tongue slipped into her mouth, tentatively seeking hers. Her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him as close as the edge of the counter would allow. Steve pulled out of the kiss slowly, leaving little nips on her lips, before he rested his forehead against hers. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” he whispered with a sigh. 

“Me too,” Y/N confessed, her eyes still closed, trying to hold on to the moment as long as possible while remembering how to breathe. “I wouldn’t even be upset if you did it again.”

Steve’s breath puffed across her face as he chuckled. “If I kiss you again right now, I might not stop,” he admitted, pulling back to look into her face.

“I don’t seem upset with that thought,” Y/N replied with a smirk. 

“Oh, believe me, sweetheart, I’m not either, but there are things we need to talk about, things I need to tell you,” he replied, letting his fingers trace her jaw. 

“Was that kiss meant to distract me from your news?” Y/N asked, knowing that Steve would be honest with her. 

“No,” he replied quickly and firmly. “Not distract just reassure. I honestly don’t know how you’re going to take what I have found out but I want you to know that no matter what happens today, no matter what anyone says, this,” he gestured between them, “this is just the beginning and I don’t plan on leaving it unfinished in any way.”

“Oh,” Y/N responded, seeing the truth in his eyes. He wanted more than that kiss, much more. 

“Did I just scare you off?” he asked with a rueful smile. 

“Not at all,” Y/N replied with a grin. “I’m right there with you, I just didn’t expect you to… well, ya know.”

“You didn’t expect me to what?” Steve questioned with narrowed eyes. His hands rested on the counter by her hips, trapping her under his intense gaze. 

“I guess I didn’t expect you to... want... someone like me,” Y/N confessed softly, not able to bring herself to look into his eyes. “ I mean, you’re kind of perfect and I’m just plain ole, somewhat broken, me.”

“Someone like you,” Steve repeated, his voice going deep. “Why wouldn’t I want a strong, independent, smart, beautiful, sexy woman? Not knowing your past is just a part of this adventure we get to have together. Your powers are a bonus to you, I would want you either way. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you, even before I knew anything about you. And now that I know you a little better, maybe even a little better than you know yourself, I want you even more and not just for a little while. And I’ve got news for you, we are all broken.”

Y/N stared at him, shocked into silence, but Steve wasn’t done. His hands slid up her back as he continued. 

“If we had time, I would show you exactly how much I want you, over and over again until you believe me,” he said, his eyes growing dark. “But right now, I need only two things from you.”

“What do you need?” Y/N asked in a whisper, her eyes round with wonder at this man. Somehow, though she didn’t remember when her hands had found their way to his shoulders. 

“First I want you to finish your breakfast,” he replied with a smirk, taking her left hand down from his shoulder, kissing her palm, and depositing it on her left knee.

“And then?” she asked breathlessly.

“And then I want you to meet me in the conference room,” Steve replied, taking her right hand from his shoulder, kissing each of her fingertips before letting it rest on her right knee. He stepped back and put some distance between them. “I’ve got to go take care of something and then I’ll be there. The rest of the team should be there already.”

Y/N smiled contently and picked up her plate as Steve turned to leave the kitchen. “Yes, Captain,” she said cheekily and could have sworn she heard Steve actually growl as he turned the corner to go down the hallway. Y/N quickly finished her breakfast and coffee. Swinging her legs down from the counter, she made her way out of the kitchen only to bump into the wall of Bucky. 

“Hey, doll,” he said as he hands landed on her upper arms to steady her. “You talk to Steve this morning?”

“Yes,” Y/N answered as heat crept up her cheeks.

“Oh, I see,” Bucky answered with a sly grin. “You talked but not many actual words were used?” he teased.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Y/N teased, pulling him down the hallway to the elevator. “Now don’t we have someplace to be?”

“Yes, we do,” Bucky replied with a little bit more seriousness in his voice. “But we’re talking about this later, and don’t think we’re not!”


	11. Chapter 11

Steve stood in his bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. With a sigh, he splashed some cold water on his face. He needed to slow down with Y/N until she had heard what he had discovered about her past. Until she made a decision. He quickly dried his face and hands and strode to the conference room, making sure to put on his Captain America face. 

Everyone was already there, sitting around the room. Conversation was flowing in small, quiet groups. Y/N had taken a seat between Bucky and Sam, either that or they had made her sit there. Steve saw with appreciation how protective his two friends were of her. Clint across the table, asking Y/N about all the animals she could turn into. Nat sat next to Clint with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. Steve had explained everything to Nat last night but she still wasn’t happy with Y/N until she saw for herself that Y/N was innocent. Tony was leaning back in his chair at the other end of the table, staring at the screen of a tablet, occasionally whispering something to Bruce who sat next to him.

“Alright everyone,” Steve called the attention of the room. “I’m sure by now that everyone has met Y/N and knows that she came to us for help. I have spent the past four days or so searching for some evidence of HYDRA’s plans for her. I started close to home.”

A screen behind Steve lit up to show a map of Canada with a few spots highlighted. 

“We know of a few abandoned HYDRA bases in Canada,” Steve continued. “I started there, looking through the files for any reference to Y/N or anyone like her. We know HYDRA’s tactics in taking people and essentially reprogramming them. What I have learned is that they started a lot younger than we initially thought.”

The screen changed and split into eight separate views, like a security monitor, showing eight rooms holding eight children, four boys and four girls. Some of the children were sleeping, some were sitting at a table with a man in a lab coat, but one was huddled in a corner, her arms wrapped around her knees. Y/N’s mouth slowly fell open as her eyes took in the images. Surely not. She would have remembered if she had been held as a child, wouldn’t she?

“I don’t have the names of all these children yet,” Steve went on, pointing at the little girl in the corner. “But we know who this is.”

Silence rested heavily on the table as everyone looked from the little girl on the screen to Y/N.

“I… I don’t remember that,” Y/N whispered, blinking her eyes furiously to keep tears back. Bucky’s arm rested around her shoulders and Sam took her hand. 

“According to the records kept by a Doctor Williams,” Steve opened a file and began reading. “Subject B has yet to respond to any stimulus other than food. She will eat but only if the food is left at her feet and everyone leaves the room. She has only changed her form in her sleep and only into the same dog. We still don’t know if she even realizes that she is changing her form. Steps must be taken to deal with her fear before this asset can be trained and utilized.”

“Damn,” Sam breathed out. 

“Does it say what steps?” Bruce asked.

“Not specifically,” Steve shook his head. “But it does say that she was transferred out of that facility because they were not equipped for the procedure.”

“I-I don’t remember,” Y/N whispered to no one, shaking her head slowly, tears making tracks down her face. 

“We’re not asking you to remember, doll,” Bucky comforted her. 

“That’s all I found at this facility,” Steve snapped the folder closed, his eyes scanning everyone in the room. Sam and Bucky were turned to Y/N, Bruce and Tony were conferring over the possible procedures HYDRA had done on Y/N, Clint just looked sad. Nat watched Y/N carefully, the scowl had cleared off her face to show something close to pity. Y/N took some deep breaths and looked up at Steve, finally able to ask the question burning in her brain. 

“Am I programmed?” she asked. “Like Bucky was?”

“We don’t know,” Steve answered softly, making his way over to her chair and turning it away from the table. He took a knee in front of her and held her hands tightly in his. “We have a few options here. We can keep investigating, go to more facilities and try to figure out what happened. Or we can stop here and deal with things as they come.”

“I want to know more,” Y/N said as firmly as she could. 

“I was hoping you would say that,” Steve smiled up at her and kissed her hands, headless of the room watching. He stood and moved back to the front of the room and tapped the screen, showing a map again with five targets highlighted over Canada. “These are the bases left in Canada to check out. They are all abandoned and SHIELD has been to all but hasn’t cleared them all out yet.”

“When do we leave?” Bucky asked. 

“As soon as we’re ready,” Steve responded. “Y/N, you can come with us or you can stay, it’s up to you. I don’t think it will be dangerous because these bases are all abandoned.”

“I want to go,” Y/N replied strongly, lifting her chin. “It’s my past, I want be a part of this.”

“Alright,” Steve smiled at her and nodded his head at the group. “We will leave in the morning. Pack to be gone for a week at least. SHIELD is loaning us a bus so that we can take our base of operations everywhere we go. These bases have their own landing strips.”

“Before we break, I have some test results to share,” Bruce said when Steve seemed to be ready to dismiss everyone. 

“Oh, great, go ahead, Dr. Banner,” Steve said, giving Bruce the floor and moving to lean against the wall behind Y/N. Bruce stood from his chair and moved to the front of the room, flipping the screen to show his table screen. 

“I think that what we’ve seen today illuminates a few questions I’ve been having,” Bruce began. “I guess we all get that they messed with your adrenaline production in order to calm you down as a child. I don’t know if it was intended to be suppressed forever though. What it does for you now could be good or bad. It could be good in that you don’t frighten, but bad for the same reason. You have no flight or fight response unless other emotions are involved. You know right from wrong but you don’t have that extra adrenaline boost to escape if you needed it.”

“What that mean healthwise?” Y/N asked, trying to focus on the new screen in front of her with numbers and graphs flashing. 

“Healthwise, your body is doing fine, I don’t anticipate any issues. It’s almost like they programmed your body to not respond with adrenaline when the situation calls for it,” Bruce explained. “And now, after hearing from Steve, we know that they were trying to rid you of your fear as a child.”

“What about the shapeshifting?” Steve asked, his voice washing over Y/N’s head, restoring some calm to her brain. 

“The shapeshifting is interesting because of what doesn’t change,” Tony took over, leaning back in his chair with his feet crossed on the table. “Her DNA doesn’t change regardless of what animal she is and when she changes into a large animal, her eye color doesn’t change.”

“What about strength and speed?” Bucky asked. 

“As far as we can tell, muscles are muscles and she should be as fast or strong as the animal she turns into,” Tony replied. 

“Can I turn into another person?” Y/N asked. The room fell silent. Nat’s eyes narrowed slightly. 

“We don’t know,” Bruce answered quietly. “Would you want to try that?”

“It might come in handy,” Y/N replied. 

“Try me,” Clint volunteered eagerly, “I’ve always wanted a twin.”

“I think now is not the time,” Steve said before Y/N could answer. “I think we need to all start getting ready to go. We leave at 7am.”

The room took the hint and slowly disbanded. Y/N slowly twirled around in her chair to look at Steve behind her. He gave her a tiny “stay there” wave and waited until everyone else had left the room before going back to her and sitting in Sam’s abandoned chair and scooted forward until their knees bumped. 

“Are you okay?” He asked tenderly, his hand holding hers. 

“I think so,” Y/N shrugged. “I mean, it’s a lot to take in and I have so many questions, but for now, I’m more curious to see what more we can find out.”

“What questions, can you tell me?” Steve asked, his eyes drawn up in concern. 

“Mostly just a big one: why don’t I remember any of that?” Y/N questioned. 

“I can only imagine that they wiped your mind the same way they wiped Bucky’s,” Steve suggested. “I was going to say something about that earlier but I didn’t want to upset Buck any more than necessary.”

“He seemed okay,” Y/N shrugged. 

“Yeah, he did but I think it’s because he had you to comfort, I’ll have to catch up with him later and make sure he’s okay,” Steve replied. 

“Steve,” Y/N reached up to cup his cheek. “Do you think me going on this trip is a good idea? I mean, Nat is still suspicious of me, I can see it.” 

“Don’t worry about her,” Steve shook his head. “She’ll come around once she gets to know you a little bit and yes, I think you should come with us. Who knows, maybe being in those bases will help your memory.”

“Alright, well, I guess I had better go pack,” Y/N stood to her full height but was still only a couple inches taller than the seated super soldier. He still held her hand. “But before I leave, I need to do something. Don’t hit me, okay?”

“K,” Steve said with a gulp as Y/N leaned down and cupped his cheek, her hand pushing into his hair and around to the back of his head. When her lips landed on his, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. Her hands combed through his hair and she thrust her tongue into his mouth, rejoicing when he met it with his own. They caressed each other over and over. Y/N retreated and Steve followed, then she pushed his tongue back and explored his mouth with hers. He let her have control for a minute but when his hand moved to the back her head and tugged lightly on her hair, her moan propelled him to dominate. Taking control of the kiss, Steve swept his tongue over hers and feasted on her mouth. Finally, when air became a priority, Y/N pulled back a couple inches from Steve’s face, her hands staying locked around his neck. Steve slowly opened his eyes as he nipped at her lips a couple times more. 

“Holy hell,” he whispered. 

“Tell me about it,” Y/N replied, a smirk pulling on the corners of her lips. Steve’s lips mirrored her smirk. 

“If we don’t stop now, we’re not going to be ready to go in the morning,” Steve whispered. Y/N smiled and pushed off of him to stand up. 

“Alright then,” Y/N cleared her throat. “Good talk. Please excuse me, Captain, I have some things to attend to.” 

Y/N turned to leave the conference room but jumped with a squeak when Steve’s hand laid a solid swat on her behind.


	12. Chapter 12

Y/N climbed up the ramp of the “bus”. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting when Steve said that SHIELD had loaned them a bus but the modified Boeing C-17 Globemaster III that didn’t fit in their hangar wasn’t it. Tony had been working all night to get the systems up to his specs and install FRIDAY. SHIELD had decided to use this opportunity to clean out the bases completely, so they sent along a full crew and data extraction team (which is a lot more dull than it sounds). Bucky directed Y/N to the second floor of the plane which held a few tiny cabins with equally tiny beds. She quickly found an empty cabin and deposited her small bag of belongings on the bed. Making her way back down to the main floor, she found the rest of the team scattered through a small sitting area with a couple couches and a small kitchen and bar. Nat sat at the bar, cradling a cup of coffee between her hands. Y/N filled her own cup and glanced at Nat cautiously.

“Refill?” she asked. Nat simple nodded and held out her mug. Y/N carefully filled it and put the pot back on the burner. Taking a seat next to Nat on a bar stool, Y/N decided to just lay her cards out on the table. Carefully though, she didn’t want Nat to kill her today.

“Still suspicious of me?” Y/N asked, taking a sip from her steaming mug.

“Yup,” Nat replied softly.

“What can I do to change that?” Y/N responded quickly, but softly, not needing the rest of the plane to weigh in on their conversation.

“Time will tell,” Nat replied. “But there is something you can be doing right now.”

“What is it?” Y/N asked, finally looking at Nat.

“Train with me. I won’t have you putting the team at risk because you don’t know how to throw a punch,” Nat smirked as she issued her challenge. Everyone on the team knew how serious Nat was about protecting her family but only a couple of them were brave enough to train with her. She was the toughest fighter and the most stubborn. She refused to give up, which made training get very intense. Y/N didn’t see any other way around it though.

“Alright,” she replied, “on one condition.”

Nat raised one eyebrow, waiting.

“I want you to teach me that thing you do when you climb up your opponent, wrap your legs around their neck, and throw them down,” Y/N said, trying to keep her voice strong even though Nat made her very nervous.

“It’ll take time,” Nat said. “But I’ll teach you.” With a final nod, Nat stood and walked towards the front of the plane.

“We’ll be taking off in about 10 minutes,” Tony announced as he walked through the living area. “Everyone find a seat with a seat belt and strap in.”

Y/N moved to the couches, all equipped with seat belts, and sat between Bucky and Sam.

“Ready for your first mission, Y/N?” Sam asked, his eye twinkling.

“I guess,” Y/N answered, her nerves beginning to show. Bucky’s metal hand rested on Y/N’s knee. She glanced up and him and he just smiled a comforting smile. He had been quiet since the meeting yesterday and while he had been in plenty of HYDRA bases since being freed from them, he knew what it felt like to walk back into one for the first time. He was so sensitive to what Y/N was about to walk into, it made him have nightmares last night.

Steve took a seat across from them, watching his best friends and Y/N sit comfortably together. Seeing them sit together, seeing Bucky and Sam comfort Y/N and try to sooth her nerves, did things to his heart. He thought that the Avengers and the military life were his home and that someone might not ever find a home in his heart, but Y/N was slowly proving him wrong. Without even trying, she was digging her way into his heart and taking up residence. Based on their kisses, Steve was pretty sure Y/N felt the same way but he had already decided that until she had found answers about her past and made her own decision, he wasn’t going to put any pressure on her.

Bucky’s nightmare last night had been almost entirely on Y/N’s behalf. When Steve had woken Bucky from his nightmare, Bucky had been uncharacteristically chatty about his dream. He had dreamed that they walked into the first HYDRA base and instead of finding answers to Y/N’s past, they were surrounded by people and a loud voice spoke some words in Russian and Y/N changed into a lion and started attacking Steve. In his dream, Bucky had had to rip Y/N’s lion jaws out of Steve’s leg and choke her with his metal arm until she passed out. Steve suggested that Bucky stay home from this mission but he wouldn’t hear of it. Bucky insisted on going to being there for Y/N every step of the way. He knew what she was about to go through better than most.

“Steve?” Clint’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “They need you up front in the cockpit.”

Steve nodded, caught Y/N’s eye and winked at her, before standing and walking to the cockpit to confer with the pilots about their first stop. Y/N smiled and looked at her hands in her lap.

“Don’t you and I have something to discuss?” Bucky asked Y/N quietly.

“What do you mean?” Y/N asked, even though her mind went straight back to her first kiss with Steve when Bucky had demanded details as soon as they got in the elevator.

“You know,” Bucky smirked.

“Buck, come on,” Y/N whined softly. “I’m not the kind of girl to kiss and tell.”

“So there was kissing!” Bucky said triumphantly.

“Kissin?” Sam asked, getting wind of the conversation over the roar of the engines. “Who was kissing?”

“No one,” Y/N replied.

“Y/N and Steve,” Bucky said over her head.

“Listen,” Y/N rolled her eyes. “We have other things to talk about that are so much more important than that.”

“What’s more important than kissing?” Sam demanded as they reached cruising altitude. Y/N gratefully unbuckled her seat belt and stood with a sigh.

“Hey, doll,” Bucky grabbed Y/N’s hand, pulling her back into her seat. “We don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, we just want to make sure you’re okay. We love Steve a lot but we also know how clueless he can be.”

“I’m alright,” Y/N assured the two men. “I’m fine with Steve and I’m ready for whatever we’re about to walk into.”

“Alright now,” Sam interjected. “You don’t have to outright lie to us.”

Y/N sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I’m nervous,” she admitted. “I’m afraid of what we might find.”

“What specifically are you worried about, Y/N?” Bucky pushed, knowing she needed to talk about it.

“I’m worried that we will find out that I’m another Winter Soldier, that I’m programmed and with a few words, I’ll turn into a dragon or something and hurt the people I care about. I’m worried that we will find that I’m broken somehow and there is no fixing me. But I’m also worried that we won’t find anything at all and this has all been a colossal waste of time and have no answers whatsoever. I’ll never know where I come from or why it had been wiped from my mind.”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” Bucky said. Sam reached behind Y/N and smacked the back of Bucky’s head.

“Listen, Y/N,” Sam began. “We can’t promise you anything at this point except for one thing: no matter what happens, we are with you. We will not abandon you in this.”

“Thank you both,” Y/N said, looking from one man to the other.

“Of course,” Sam replied.

“Any time, doll,” Bucky added. Y/N smiled at them both and stood with a lot more confidence. Curiosity set in and she wandered up the cockpit to hear Steve giving instructions on landing on the airstrip, keeping to the east side of the compound. Y/N drew a breath, she didn’t know they were so close to landing already. Steve looked back and saw her nerves displayed across her face. He reached a hand out to her, Y/N took it and let him pull her forward and under his arm.

“You doing okay, babe?” he asked softly. “We’re almost to the first base.”

“I’m with you,” Y/N replied. “I’m okay.”

Steve dropped a kiss onto the top of her head as the plane began its descent. Y/N held tight to Steve’s solid body, letting her mind repeat her matra of the day.

_Everything will be okay._   
_Everything will be okay._   
_Everything will be okay._


	13. Chapter 13

The plane landed smoothly for such a large thing, not that Y/N had lots of experience with being in a plane that large. Everyone had already suited up but since Y/N didn’t have a “battle suit” as she called it, she let her jeans and hoodie be sufficient. Not that it truly mattered, Y/N had to remind herself that she wasn’t a part of the team, she was just someone they were helping. Even though she felt closer to them than she had felt with anyone, she knew she wasn’t Avenger material.

The SHIELD personnel and the Avengers piled out of the plane and Y/N got her first good view of the compound and she had to admit that it didn’t look like much. Maybe that was the point though. It was supposed to be abandoned but everyone was ready for anything just in case. The majority of the compound was below ground, the only thing above ground was the hangar. It was empty and their footsteps echoed off of the metal walls. A creaky elevator let them down to investigate the lower levels. Empty rooms, empty filing cabinets, and defunct computers were all that remained.

The team split up, leaving Y/N with Steve and Bucky. Without anything to compare this compound with, Y/N thought it must have been pretty average. Everything was dark and dank, like a long-forgotten basement. They went to the lowest level and began working their way around the maze of corridors.

“Anything jogging your memory, Y/N?” Steve asked, his deep voice echoing around the room in which they stood.

“No, nothing,” Y/N replied with a shiver. “Do we know for sure that I was even here as a kid?”

“We don’t know, I was just hoping something would click,” Steve answered.

“Let’s keep moving,” Bucky said, not wanting to stand in one place too long. It made him nervous. He held his gun at shoulder level, ever at the ready. The soldiers kept Y/N in between them as they walked into the next room. This room had filing cabinets that were not all empty. Steve started pulling files out and swiftly scanning through them for any mention of the children. Bucky noticed something behind one of the cabinets against the far wall. He pushed the empty cabinet aside to reveal another door.

“Steve,” he called. Steve moved Y/N behind them and nodded for Bucky to open the door. It squealed on its hinges, not wanting to move but no match for Bucky’s strength. A light blinked on as soon as the door was opened all the way. The room held a single desk that spanned the length of the far wall. It had multiple screens and the rest of the walls were lined with filing cabinets. All completely full. The desk itself was covered in files and papers scattered everywhere. When HYDRA abandoned this base, they did it quickly and apparently this room got overlooked or they thought no one would find it.

Steve got to work on the filing cabinets while Y/N moved to the desk to see if any of the computers would boot up. Bucky stood guard in the middle of the room, turning to take in every corner, while quietly alerting the rest of the team of their situation.

“Hey,” Y/N called. “One of these computers actually still works!” The soldiers moved to stand behind Y/N as the screens lit up and showed different views of the same room. In the middle of the room was a large cage and in the cage was a huge gray wolf. It snarled and growled at the two men in the room. One of the men spoke calmly to the wolf, his voice soft and reassuring. The wolf slowly stopped growling and sat on its haunches near the far wall of the cage. Slowly, the fur and long snout morphed into a young Y/N dressed in a dirty hospital gown. Y/N gasped. Steve’s hand rested heavily on her shoulder. Bucky’s eyes narrowed as the second man spoke.

They couldn’t understand what he was saying, his voice was too low, but they could hear the tenor of his voice and it was mean. He spoke angrily and harsh. Young Y/N immediately changed back into the wolf. This happened over and over again. Young Y/N responded to the kind words and soft voice by returning to herself, but turned back into the wolf with amazing speed at the other man’s harsh words.

“That’s enough,” Steve said as they hit the 30 minute mark of watching the video. By this time, the rest of the team had arrived and had seen enough of the video to know what was going on. Tears streamed down Y/N’s cheeks as she lifted her face to Steve.

“Do you remember any of that?” he asked as he knelt by her side and gently swiped at the tears on her face. Y/N could only shake her head no as she sobbed. Steve pulled her into his arms and easily lifted her out of the chair. She buried her face in his shoulder.

“Box everything up, I want to take it all with us,” Steve directed the team and the SHIELD data team as he took Y/N back to the surface for some air and distance. Once she was out in the sun, Y/N was able to take some deep breaths and halt her tears. Steve carefully stood her back on her feet but kept his arms around her waist.

“Are you okay?” he asked, letting his forehead rest on hers.

“Yes, I think so,” Y/N replied, her voice still trembling slightly. “Do you think they were programming me, Steve? Like they did with Bucky?”

“I don’t know, honey,” he answered, his hands cupping her face to make her look into his eyes. “But we will figure it out. No matter what happens, I’m here.”

“Thank you, I couldn’t do this without you, Steve,” Y/N confessed. Steve drew her close and rested his lips on hers in a short, soft kiss. Pulling back to look into her eyes, Steve smiled.

“You’ll never have to,” he promised. He leaned back down to kiss her again but Bucky’s voice calling his name stopped him.

“Steve,” Bucky called, running to them. “We found a file on Y/N!” He ran up to them and handed the file over to Steve.

“Does it say anything about what those men were saying to me?” Y/N asked Bucky.

“I don’t know, we didn’t open it yet,” he answered, draping his flesh arm over her shoulders. “Either way, it’ll be okay, doll.”

Steve studied the contents of the file for a couple minutes while Bucky and Y/N waited anxiously. The rest of the team made their way to join the small group, leaving the SHIELD team and handle the rest of the base. Finally, Steve spoke.

“I think I found out what was going on here,” he started. “It’s as you suspected, Y/N, they moved you here to program you like they did their other soldiers. Apparently they did that to all the children that they worked on. You were an exception because you refused to do what they wanted. That’s another reason why they inhibited your adrenaline, to keep you compliant.”

“Does it say if the programming ever worked?” Y/N asked, Bucky’s arm around her shoulders squeezed tight.

“Yes,” Steve said, his face dropping. “Yes, they think they did it but their tests were interrupted and then everyone bugged out.”

“Are the words in the file?” Bucky asked.

“Yes, it’s German I think,” Steve replied. Just then, a few member of the SHIELD team came out of the hangar with a large cage. They set it outside the large hangar doors and went back inside.

“Lets see if they work,” Y/N said, determination lacing her voice. She shrugged off Bucky’s arm and began walking toward the cage.

“Wait just a minute,” Tony said, “We aren’t seriously going to do this, are we?”

“There’s only one way to know, Tony,” Y/N said. “And if the words are there to activate and deactivate me, I want to know if the programming stuck.”

Y/N stepped into the cage before anyone else could say anything and turned to look at Steve.

“Do it, Steve, you know this is the only way,” Y/N demanded. Steve hesitated, helplessness showing across his face. Bucky took the folder from Steve and stared a hardened glare at Y/N.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice rough like the man in the video.

“Yes,” Y/N replied softly. Bucky took a few deep breaths before speaking.

“Aktiviere den Wolf,” he said gruffly. Nothing happened.

“Mean it, Bucky!” Y/N demanded.

“Aktiviere den Wolf,” he yelled. Y/N still stood on her two feet.

“Three times,” Tony said. “I think he said it three times.”

“Aktiviere den Wolf,” Bucky yelled a third time. Y/N gasped as a wave of dizziness and nausea ripped through her and before she could respond to Bucky, her view changed from being chest level with Bucky to being at thigh level. Y/N looked down and saw large grey paws instead of feet.

“Y/N?” Steve called, catching her attention. “Are you still with us?”

Y/N tilted her head as she stared at Steve through wolf eyes. Everything was sharper as a wolf. Her vision and her hearing seemed heightened. She felt abundant strength in her muscles and an energy that she hadn’t felt ever in her life. She turned in the cage, taking in as much as possible and taking stock of who was in control. Her brain, which had been so loud when she first changed into the penguin, was silent now. She even tried to make it speak to her by asking questions. Nothing.

“Y/N?” Steve called again, stepping closer to the cage.

“I’m me,” Y/N replied. “I mean, I’m a wolf, but I’m still me in here.”

“No homicidal urges?” Clint asked.

“I don’t think so,” Y/N replied, as she refocused on her human form and found that nothing happened. “Small problem though, I think I’m stuck.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked.

“I can’t change back,” Y/N replied, frustration in her voice. Bucky pulled the cage open and Y/N walked out, feeling the ground on her paws. The urge to run around was very pressing. To feel the wind whipping through her fur, to hunt and howl.

“Try the other phrase, Bucky,” Steve commanded.

“Other phrase?” Y/N inquired, sitting down in the grass.

“Yes, what the other doctor was saying,” Steve explained. “It’s in there too.”

Bucky knelt down in front of Y/N and consulted the file again.

“Schweig jetzt klein,” he said. “Schweig jetzt klein, Schweig jetzt klein.” Nothing happened. Y/N tried to turn back to herself but found that she couldn’t. It was as if a door had been shut and she couldn’t open it again.

“Guys, I think we might have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:   
> Aktiviere den Wolf = “Activate the wolf”  
> Schweig jetzt klein = “hush now small one”


	14. Chapter 14

“Yeah, this is a problem,” Y/N said, her wolf lips curling up in a small snarl. Bucky had tried multiple times, saying the words different ways to get Y/N to return to her human form, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to be working. Tony and Bruce returned to the lower level of the base to see if they could find more information about the programming process that might give them a clue as to why it wasn’t working and why Y/N couldn’t just turn herself back. She was in her right mind, the programming seemed to only affect her ability to shift.

Nat and Clint made sure all of the SHIELD personnel knew the wolf was Y/N and harmless, just in case someone got a smart idea about killing a wolf. Y/N roamed the compound, letting her wolf instincts take over just a little bit. She chased a rabbit around for a little while but didn’t actually attack it. Running felt amazing, like she was made to run. Her sense of smell and hearing was heightened and because she understood what everyone was saying, she enjoyed listening in on various conversations from far away. After a few hours, Y/N tried again to turn into her human self but only succeeded in making herself dizzy and frustrated. Finally, Y/N gave up and just laid down in the grass, letting the sun warm her grey and white fur.

“Y/N,” Steve said softly as he sat down next to her in the grass. “How ya doing?”

“I’m alright, Steve,” she replied, turning her head to look at him. “I’m still a wolf though.”

“So I see,” Steve replied with a chuckle. “But you’re a beautiful wolf and we will figure this out, so don’t panic.”

“I’m not panicking, Steve,” Y/N answered. “I can’t panic, remember, no adrenaline rush.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Steve rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “We are nearly finished here. We’re going to get in the air but it’ll be morning until we reach the next base.”

“Alright,” Y/N stretched her legs, all four of them, as she stood. “Did they find any more files on me?”

“No, we found a few files on some of the other children though.”

“Oh really? What happened to them?” Y/N and Steve began walking back to the plane. Man and wolf.

“Three others were brought here, in addition to you, but it looks like they all died rather quickly after arriving due to various experiments going wrong,” Steve explained sadly. They started to walk up the ramp when Tony came up behind them with the last of the files in his hands.

“Alright, Cap, we’re ready to go,” he said before eyeing Y/N. “Do you need to pee before we go, Lassie?”

“Ha ha, Tony,” Y/N replied with just a little growl in her voice.

“Alright alright, don’t blame me when you don’t find a puppy pee pad on the plane,” Tony said, raising his hands in surrender as he slid past them up the ramp.

“That does raise a very practical question,” Y/N murmured as she glanced back down the ramp.

“I have something to show you,” Steve said, laying his hand on Y/N’s head. “Follow me.”

Steve led Y/N up into the second floor where the tiny cabins held their things. He walked to the cabin he had taken and pushed open the door. Y/N gasped when she saw what he had done for her. Steve had removed the bed entirely and laid out multiple blankets and quilts all over the small floor. There were pillows piled in a corner.

“I, um,” Steve began nervously, a blush creeping up his face. “I tried to make you a little wolf den.”

“Oh Steve, I love it!” Y/N squealed as she jumped onto the pallet of blankets and turned in circles before she laid down.

“And there’s more,” Steve said as he slid the sliding closet door open to reveal a metal box with shredded paper in it. “I-I didn’t know if you would need to go, b-b-but I wanted you to… ya know… have some privacy… and… well, ya know.”

Y/N stood and walked to Steve, raising up on her hind legs, she was tall enough to put her front paws on Steve’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Steve,” she said, letting her wet tongue lick up his cheek. Steve laughed and put his hands on her shoulders.

“You still have the softest fur of any animal I have ever touched,” Steve said. A lurch of the plane knocked Y/N back to her four feet and Tony’s voice came over the plane-wide intercom.

“Strap in kids, we’re taking off.”

Steve and Y/N made their way down to the main floor. Steve found a seat at the end of one of the couches and buckled in. Y/N hopped up on the seat next to him and laid her head on his thigh. He awkwardly pulled the straps around her middle and snapped the buckle shut, being careful not to catch any of her fur. The plane vibrated as it took off and soared through the sky. Once they reached cruising altitude, everyone unbuckled and stood. Steve released Y/N’s buckle and went up to the cockpit to speak to the pilots about their next destination. Y/N simply sat down on the floor, unsure of what to do.

“Hey,” Nat said from the other side of the bar. “Thirsty?”

“Yeah, actually I am,” Y/N replied, walking around the bar to the kitchen.

“How should we do this?” Nat asked, bottle of water in her hand.

“Well, I guess you had better put that in a bowl,” Y/N said, her voice resigned to whatever teasing was about to happen. Nat found a bowl and silently poured the water in and set the bowl in a corner of the kitchen. Y/N walked over and lapped up all the water in record time.

Clint walked in just then and snickered a little at seeing Y/N drink from a bowl. Nat swiftly punched his shoulder with a deep frown. Rubbing the bruise, Clint walked off without a word. Y/N missed the entire altercation. Dinner was eaten quickly, Nat putting a cooked chicken breast on a plate on the floor for Y/N. No one made fun her, not even a single joke was put out about Y/N eating on the floor. Sam actually sat on the floor and ate with Y/N.

“I’m not going to lie,” Y/N started once her chicken was gone. “I like this feeling of power being a wolf. I can feel my muscles and the shear power in my jaw and it’s pretty amazing.”

“Well, just don’t get any ideas on testing your jaw strength on me,” Sam teased. Bucky and Steve plopped down and joined the conversation. Clint, Nat, and Tony leaned over the bar. Bruce knelt down in front of Y/N.

“How are you feeling, Y/N?” Bruce asked. “Any dizziness?”

“I got a little dizzy when I tried to turn back and couldn’t, but I think that was just because I was frustrated and felt stuck,” Y/N answered. “I am tired though.”

“Alright,” Bruce replied. “I’m a little concerned about you staying a wolf for a long period of time. I know we’ve tested you being an animal for a few hours at a time, but never more than a day. Make sure you let me know if you are feeling anything out of the ordinary.”

“That includes any wolfy tendencies,” Tony put in from above their heads. “No chewing on the furniture, young lady.”

“Alright, Tony,” Y/N replied with a yawn. “I’ll just chew your shoes instead.”

Everyone but Tony laughed as Y/N made her way over to where Steve was sitting on the floor and plopped down next to him, laying her head on his leg.

“Alright everyone, it’s been a long day,” Steve said to the group, laying his hand on Y/N’s head. “Let’s get some sleep, tomorrow will be just as long.”

The group disbanded and everyone went their separate ways. Steve and Y/N went up to the second floor to the den he made for her. Steve made himself comfortable in the nest of blankets and pillows, Y/N laid down next to him, her back against his side as she stretched out nearly the entire length of his body. Rolling onto his side, cheek resting in his hand, Steve reached an arm over Y/N and gently ran a hand down her back.

“Softest fur ever,” he whispered.

“Thank you, Steve,” Y/N replied just as softly, her eyes already closed with exhaustion. “Thank you for everything.”

“Always,” Steve replied but Y/N was already asleep. He watched her sleep for a little while until suddenly his eyes widened in amazement as Y/N’s fur slowly began to sink into her skin. Her four legs lengthened and thickened into arms and legs. Her tail disappeared. Her wolf ears shrunk into her normal ears and her hair returned to its natural state. Laying next to him, still sound asleep, was human Y/N, still dressed in what she had been wearing all day. 


	15. Chapter 15

“Y/N,” Steve said as he shook her shoulder but she didn’t wake up. She didn’t respond to him in any way. Worried, Steve carefully slid an arm under her neck and an arm under her knees and easily lifted her and took her downstairs to find Bruce and Tony still talking on the couches. Seeing Steve stand there with an unconscious and human Y/N in his arms, Bruce leapt to his feet.

“What happened?” he demanded, checking Y/N’s pulse and finding it a little slow.

“I don’t know,” Steve answered, sitting down on the couch with Y/N still in his arms. “She fell asleep and was sleeping hard, then she shifted back but I can’t wake her up.”

“FRIDAY,” Tony ordered. “Full scan.”

“Yes, sir,” FRIDAY responded and a quick light ran from Y/N’s head to her toes and back again. Bruce slipped her shoes off and made sure the collar of her shirt wasn’t too tight and she could breathe properly. Steve pulled his arm out from under her knees and let her legs rest on the couch. His other arm was still between her neck and armrest. He gently moved a few strands of her hair away from her face and let his hand roam through her hair.

“This change was different,” Steve explained. “Normally it’s like the air shimmers around her with silver and purple, but this time there was no shimmering. She just slowly morphed back to her normal self.”

Tony whipped out a tablet and began looking at FRIDAY’s analysis.

“She’s not just sleeping, she’s passed out,” he reported. “FRIDAY can’t find anything wrong with her. I wonder if she shifted back because she fell asleep and then passed out when she shifted back. But why did she shift back?”

“Maybe because she was asleep?” Bruce wondered out loud, beginning to pace as he thought. “It makes sense. The programming that kept her a wolf might only be effective while she was conscious and when she hit REM sleep, her mind registered her as unconscious and allowed her to shift back. The stress of being a wolf for so long and then shifting back suddenly must have been what made her pass out.”

“I didn’t know you could pass out when you were already sleeping,” Steve mumbled, not taking his eyes from Y/N’s face.

“Apparently you can,” Tony shrugged.

“Nocturnal fainting, it’s a thing,” Bruce responded distractedly. “I think, though, when she wakes up, she’ll shift back into a wolf.”

“What can we do?” Steve asked, feeling helpless.

“Keep her comfortable,” Bruce shrugged. “I really don’t know. Until I find out exactly how they repressed her adrenaline and what else they did to her, there’s a lot I don’t know.”

“Alright,” Steve said, ideas forming in his head already. He slipped his arm back under Y/N’s knees and stood with ease. “FRIDAY, wake Nat, I’m going to need her help.”

By the time Steve got back upstairs, Nat was standing in the hallway. Her eyes grew large when she saw Y/N’s human form. Steve quickly explained what happened and why he needed her help. Nat went to Y/N’s room and found clean sleep pants in her bag. She brought the pants and a wet wash rag back to Steve’s room. She smirked slightly when she saw the den he had made for Y/N. Steve excused himself as Nat quickly removed Y/N’s dirty clothes, wiped down her face, arms, and legs and put the clean pants and one of Steve’s t-shirts on her. At least she would be clean and comfortable while sleeping. Stepping back out into the hallway, Nat nodded to Steve and went back to her room.

Steve went back into his room and stood over the unconscious woman who was stealing his heart. He wondered if he shouldn’t carry her back to her own room but decided against it, he didn’t want to leave her alone in case something else happened. Laying down next to her, Steve pulled Y/N’s back to snuggle against his chest. He slid an arm under her head and wrapped it around to grasp her shoulder, the other arm wrapped around her middle. Dropping a sweet kiss on her head, he laid his head back on the pillow and tried to sleep.

Hours later, when the plane jerked Steve awake, he was laying in the same position excepted he now held a large furry wolf instead of a human Y/N.

“You’re finally awake,” Y/N said with a small chuckle.

“Sorry,” Steve lifted his arms and Y/N rolled to look at him. “You could have gotten up, you didn’t have to lay here while I slept.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Y/N replied with a laugh. “You were holding me too tight, I couldn’t wiggle out. Besides, I liked it.”

“Oh,” Steve blushed. “Well, good. I mean, thanks. I-I mean, um, okay.”

Y/N laughed louder. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered!”

“Y/N, I need to tell you something,” Steve was suddenly serious.

“What?” Y/N questioned.

“Last night, when you were sleeping, you went back to your human form,” Steve explained.

“I did?” Y/N exclaimed. “I never woke up.”

“I know, you actually passed out,” Steve replied, moving to sit up and lean against the wall. “I got worried and took you to Bruce and Tony. They think that you changed because you fell asleep, as if the programming is only effective while you’re conscious. And then, when you changed to human, it was different. The air didn’t shimmer, you just slowly changed back to human. It was strange.”

“Wow,” Y/N whispered, moving to sit up, her wolf ears tilted forward in thought. Steve smiled, she was beautiful as a human, adorable as a golden retriever, and breathtaking as a grey wolf.

“Oh, and something else,” Steve continued with a slight blush. “I had Nat change your clothes into something clean and comfortable. I think she used one my shirts.”

“I’m wearing one of your shirts?” Y/N asked, her wolf lips pulling back in a grin. “It’s wolf fur now!” The plane lurched again and a voice indicated that they were landing at the next base.

“Time to go to work,” Steve said as he hauled himself up.

“Okay,” Y/n replied, standing as well. Steve stepped out of the room to go down the hallway to the tiny airplane bathroom while Y/N went into the closet, into Steve’s makeshift litter box, hoping instinct would kick in. It did.

By the time they both got downstairs, the plane was coming in for landing and everyone was present and already suited up.

“Morning, Nymeria,” Tony said as he strode by her completely encased in the Iron Man suit. Steve looked confused by the name until Y/N reminded him about the wolves from Game of Thrones. The plane landed and everyone carefully made their way down the ramp and into the landing strip. Y/N stayed close to Steve. The air blew across the field and into Y/N’s nose. She lifted her head and took in all the smells. Something was different.

“Steve, how long has this base been empty?” she asked.

“I think intelligence reported that it’s been empty nearly three years,” Steve replied, his eyes scanning the edge of the forest.

“I don’t think that’s accurate,” Y/N replied, her face still lifted into the wind. “I smell someone. They’ve been here very recently.”

“Are they still here?” Bucky asked.

“I’m not sure,” Y/N replied slowly. “I think we can proceed with caution. Might be someone hiding where I can’t smell them.”

The team entered the compound as if it were occupied, looking around every corner on high alert. Once the compound was cleared, they relaxed slightly and began looking through files. They found plenty of information on a couple of other children that had died there but nothing on Y/N. Back on the plane, everyone settled down on the couches, Y/N was feeling pretty down and very tired. She was tired of being a wolf and feeling stuck even though she loved the strength and heightened senses that being a wolf gave her. She laid down on the floor and rested her chin on her paws. Steve moved to sit next to her, his back leaning against the wall. He gently stroked her head and she moved to lay her chin on his thigh.

“Feeling okay?” Steve asked quietly.

“I’m tired,” Y/N replied. “More tired than I think I ought to be but I guess it’s because I’m not exactly myself these days.”

Tony and Bruce began watching all the video from the first compound again, just in case they missed something. Bucky’s eyes shifted from the screens to Y/N again and again. He was dealing with his own demons at present, feeling guilty that he had caused Y/N to turn into a wolf and couldn’t help her get back. Y/N’s senses were already on overload but she could practically see the cloud over Bucky’s head. Giving Steve’s hand a nudge with her nose, she stood and walked wearily over to Bucky. Sitting at his feet, her head was nearly as tall as the sitting soldier. He refused to meet her eyes. Putting both front paws on his chest, Y/N ducked her head and growled lightly, Bucky’s eyes snapped to her.

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered. “None of this is your fault. Do you hear me?”

Bucky simply nodded. Y/N nuzzled her head under his chin in comfort and Bucky wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug. Pulling away, Y/N bid the room goodnight and went up to Steve’s room. Turning around in a couple circles, Y/N laid herself down in a ball of wolf and fur. Steve came in only a couple minutes later and wrapped himself around her. He waited until she was completely asleep and changed back into her human self before motioning Bruce into the room. FRIDAY quickly scanned Y/N from a handheld tablet Tony held and sent the results to Bruce downstairs. Bruce quickly reported back that all was well, the same as last night, Y/N had passed out. The strain of maintaining the form of a wolf was starting to show. Tony left, Nat came in and put Y/N into clean clothes, and Steve laid back down, wrapping his arms back around her.

Together they slept on the floor in a nest of blankets as the plane sped through the night toward the next compound. And Steve hoped, toward answers and freedom for Y/N.


	16. Chapter 16

Steve’s dreams that night were vivid. Dreams of everything from running alongside Y/N where she was wolf to running and he was the wolf. He dreamed of fighting beside her and for her. In every scenario though, he didn’t win. And he lost Y/N. When the last one jerked him awake, he scrubbed a hand down his face and gently removed himself from around Y/N’s sleeping body and went downstairs. He made himself a cup of tea and slouched down on a couch. It didn’t take long for Bucky to appear.

“I heard you wake up,” Bucky explained, plopping down next to his best friend. “It’s hard to sleep on a plane.”

“You’re not wrong,” Steve replied, taking a sip of his tea.

“What’s got you up?” Bucky asked.

“Nightmares,” Steve answered with a slight quiver in his voice.

“What about?” Bucky leaned forward. Steve wasn’t typically the one awakened by nightmares.

“Y/N, fighting for her. Running with her. Losing her.” Steve ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “I think I’m falling for her, Buck.”

“Of course you are,” Bucky replied with a smirk. “Anyone with eyes could have told you that.”

“What do I do?” Steve questioned, his eyes growing large.

“What do you mean? You love her, pure and simple.” Bucky shrugged easily.

“But everything is still so up the air,” Steve replied softly.

“So what?” Bucky stood and started to head back to his room, pausing in the doorway for one final thought. “If any one of us deserves to be loved, Steve, it’s you. Don’t lose this opportunity. The team supports you both and will continue to help until things are settled. Y/N is amazing and you deserve nothing less.”

“Thanks, jerk,” Steve replied with a smile.

“Anytime, punk.” Bucky turned his back and went back to bed with a grin. It’s about time Steve had someone.

Steve remained deep in thought until his tea was gone and then took himself back to bed. Y/N was still out cold and still human. He snuggled back up to her and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her close. Burying his nose in her hair, he inhaled her scent. She smelled like flowers and grass with just a hint of something wild. It suited her. As he drifted back to sleep, Steve pondered how to tell her about his feelings for her. He hadn’t ever hid what he was feeling but neither did he have words for them either. Until now. Now he had the words, he just needed to figure out how to tell Y/N.

A few hours later, Steve woke alone. He made his way downstairs to hear laughter coming from the kitchen. He found Bucky, Clint, and Nat with Y/N standing around laughing. Y/N was back to her wolf form but she seemed happy.

“Do you think it’s okay for a wolf to drink coffee?” Y/N was asking. “I’m kind of desperate here.”

“I don’t see why not,” Clint replied, pouring some coffee from the pot into a glass bowl for Y/N. Over by a desk with some computer screens, Tony and Bruce were again pouring over the videos Hydra took of Y/N changing back and forth between a wolf and a human. The plane wasn’t due to land for another couple hours so everyone seemed relaxed. Steve glanced over Tony’s shoulder as the first man spoke the first phrase to young Y/N and she shifted to a wolf. The second man spoke the second phrase to young Y/N and she shifted back. Steve’s eyes widened in realization and he had never felt so stupid.

He rushed to Y/N and knelt down on the floor in front of her. She looked into his eyes questioningly.

“I’ve been so blind not to see it before now, Y/N. I’m so sorry,” he breathed out, cupping her wolf jaws with his large hands.

“What are you talking about Steve?” Y/N asked softly.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“You know I do,” Y/N answered.

“I, um, I want to try something and it might not work but I think it will,” Steve babbled nervously.

“Steve,” Y/N said, “what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I hope this works,” Steve whispered before taking a deep breath and speaking again, softly, tenderly, lovingly. “Schweig jetzt klein. Schweig jetzt klein. Schweig jetzt klein.”

Y/N eyes immediately rolled back in her head and the air shimmered around in her in silver and purple swirls. Steve still had his hands cupping her jaws and was amazed as he felt the fur slowly dissipate into smooth, warm skin. As the air cleared, Y/N appeared human and on her knees in front of Steve. Her face was drawn and exhausted but she smiled into his eyes. Steve’s smile cracked across his face as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She weakly hugged him back.

“Thank you, Steve,” she whispered, the change stole all of her energy. Steve pulled back to look into her eyes and found himself unable to resist. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her slowly and sweetly. He felt her weakness under his hands and held her up. Pulling back, leaving just a couple of light nips on her lips, he stood and pulled Y/N up with him. As soon as she stood up, her legs gave out. Steve swept her up in his arms and laid her down on a couch. Bruce and FRIDAY immediately went to work checking out Y/N as a volley of questions sailed around the room.

Steve held his hand up until everyone grew silent. “I was watching the video over Tony’s shoulder just now and I realized that it took two men back then and it might take two now. I figured since Bucky initiated the change, maybe I could end it.” Everyone started talking again but Steve ignored them all and went to kneel beside Y/N.

“How are you?” he asked quietly, taking her hands and kissing her knuckles.

“I’m exhausted but I’m me again,” Y/N gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Steve.”

“Always,” he replied. “I’m just so sorry it took me so long to figure it out.” Steve looked up at Bruce who nodded once.

“Y/N will be fine, she just needs rest,” he explained. Steve nodded and glanced over at the team. Everyone was still talking over one another. Steve smiled at his bickering family and slid an arm under Y/N knees and one around her shoulders and lifted her in his strong arms. She wrapped her arms weakly around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He took her upstairs and paused outside his door looking down at Y/N, silently asking her where she wanted to be.

“Your room please,” she whispered, letting her head nuzzle into his neck. He kicked the door open and carefully laid her down in the nest of blankets. He laid down next to her and stretched out down the length of her body. Y/N tried to cuddle closer but was ultimately too weak. Steve took her into his arms and held her close as she drifted to sleep.

“I love you, Steve,” Y/N whispered as she dozed off.

“I love you too, babe,” he replied softly, not sure if she heard him. 


	17. Chapter 17

The large plane landed and Y/N didn’t budge. Steve slipped away, leaving a quick kiss on her forehead as she slept. Being a wolf for a few days really took it out of her. This was the second to last base they had planned on checking out and Steve was really hoping for some answers.

The team was ready when Steve got downstairs. He suited up and led the exit down the ramp cautiously. Y/N’s sense that the last base might have been occupied more recently than they had thought put him on edge. Nothing looked out of place here though. The mostly above ground compound was a change from Hydra’s preference to underground bases. Steve divided everyone into three teams. Nat and Bruce would lead a group of SHIELD agents through the back. Sam and Tony would carry Clint to the roof and start from the top down. Steve and Bucky would go right through the front door.

“I hope we find what we need here,” Bucky said as he followed closely behind Steve as they entered the loan three-story building.

“Me too, Buck,” Steve responded quietly, not letting his eyes rest for a single moment as they scanned every nook and cranny of the large room. Both soldiers were on high alert. Something wasn’t right. An abandoned base had a certain feel about it and this base didn’t feel anything like the others. If walls could be alive, these walls were jumping.

“Cap,” Nat’s voice came across the comms. “We’re at the back and something feels off.”

“We feel it too,” Steve replied. “Stay alert but continue forward. Clear every room and meet on the second floor.”

“Roger that,” Nat answered.

“Sam, Tony,” Steve called through his comms. “Situation on the roof?”

“All clear up here, Cap,” Sam said.

“It’s eerily quiet out here though. No birds or anything,” Clint added.

“Stay alert,” Steve commanded. “Clint, stay on the roof. Sam and Tony, work your way through the third floor and meet on the second floor.”

“On it, Captain” Tony replied.

Steve and Bucky pressed forward and cleared their half of the first floor before heading upstairs. They met up with Nat and Bruce’s team first. She shook her head indicating that they didn’t find anyone. Sam and Tony joined the group with the same report. No one was inside the building except for the team. Steve had just set the SHIELD team members to work gathering all the files and computers in the building when Clint’s voice sounded across everyone’s comms.

“Guys, get up to the roof, now!”

Without a glance to each other, everyone ran to up to the roof and found Clint in the far corner, his bow ready to fire an arrow into the trees.

“What do you see?” Steve huffed. Bucky was scanning the horizon through the scope on his gun.

“Along the edge of the trees,” Clint replied, not taking his eyes from the trees. “It was just a second but I know I saw someone.”

“Alright,” Steve said, including the SHIELD team on comms. “Looks like there’s someone in the woods. I want two teams out there, one team in the building to finish getting everything out. We need to pick up the pace, people. Something’s going on and I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Nat, get back to the plane and watch over Y/N, I left her sleeping in my room.”

Nat nodded and ran back into the building, downstairs, and Steve watched her run across the grounds to the plane on the airstrip and up the ramp. He turned back to the woods to watched two teams of SHIELD agents separate and enter the woods on either side of where Clint saw someone.

“Cap,” Nat’s voice cracked through the comms. “We have a problem.”

Steve didn’t hesitate even a second, he turned and ran into the building and out toward the plane. Bucky was on his heels. He had nearly made it to the ramp when he saw multiple feet and then legs as Nat was pushed down the ramp. A large man sneered at him from behind the gun he held to Nat’s head. A few more men trailed behind them carrying a stretcher with Y/N strapped down it to, her eyes still closed in sleep or unconsciousness, Steve wasn’t sure. He saw red as his anger burned.

“No need to look so upset, Captain America,” the large man leered at him. “We only came to collect our property, we have no desire to start a war with the Avengers.”

“She is not your property,” Steve replied through clenched teeth. “And if you take her, you will start a war with me.”

A deafening yell pierced the air as Hulk leaped off the building’s roof and landed hard on the ground. He began racing toward the plane, heedless of the bullets as the Hydra operatives opened fire. Hulk rammed into the group on soldiers, wrapping his huge arms around Y/N and the stretcher and ran away with her back to the building, climbing up the side like Godzilla with his precious cargo. Nat took the opportunity created by the distraction to elbow the lead man in the nose. Steve and Bucky made short work of the rest of the soldiers.

“You got this?” Steve asked Nat and Bucky.

“We got it, go,” Nat ordered. Bucky nodded. Steve ran back to the building and up the roof. He found Hulk huddled over Y/N. He was trying to unstrap her from the stretcher but his large fingers couldn’t work the buckles. He was trying to be careful to not hurt Y/N. He growled in frustration and looked at Steve.

“You help wolfy girl,” he commanded, pointing to the buckles around Y/N.

“I’ll get her out of there, Big Guy,” Steve said, kneeling next to Y/N. “Thank you for saving her.”

Hulk simply grunted and sat back on his heels as he faded away and allowed Banner to take control. Steve quickly released Y/N, checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it strong and normal. Banner quickly checked her over and told Steve she was just unconscious and unharmed. In the corner of his eye, Steve saw Clint pull an arrow and send it flying toward the trees.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked, standing to move to Clint.

“Looks like a couple platoons worth of Hydra soldiers,” Clint replied. “I don’t think this battle is quite over yet, Cap.”

“How many?” Steve asked.

“Maybe 100, 150,” Clint answered, notching another arrow and letting it fly towards a small group of fighters emerging from the trees. A hydra operative fell. Nat and Bucky raced into the fray, knocking Hydra operatives down as they ran in tandem.

“Steve,” Bruce’s voice called shakily. Steve turned and his stomach dropped. No less than 20 Hydra soldiers stood on the roof, guns drawn on him and Clint. Bruce still knelt on the rooftop beside Y/N, whose eyes were still closed. For the sake of Y/N, Steve hesitated to make a move. Clint lowered his bow, his jaw ticking with anger.

“Give us the girl,” one of the soldiers demanded.

“Not likely,” Steve answered firmly.

“You’ve got nowhere to go, Captain, and you cannot fight us all by yourself,” the man responded. Steve glanced at Banner and saw tinges of green around his ears and anger flash in his eyes. Tightening his grip on his shield, Steve’s muscles bunched as he prepared to leap into action but he was brought up short by a much smaller man pushing his way through the soldiers. This man clearly wasn’t a soldier, he was dressed in simple brown slacks and a button up shirt, glasses on his face, grey hair hanging over his eyes. Something about him looked vaguely familiar but Steve couldn’t place him.

The man hurried across the roof to kneel beside Y/N. He quickly checked her over before looking up at Bruce. He quickly whispered something that made Bruce’s eyes go wide and the green completely disappear from his ears. Hulk was not coming out. Steve’s eyes narrowed as the man instructed two soldiers to lift Y/N on the stretcher and they walked her back into the building. Bruce stood and moved around to Steve as they faced down the remaining soldiers.

“What’s going on?” Steve whispered.

“He’s her father,” Bruce replied, raising his hands in surrender against the guns of the glaring soldiers.


	18. Chapter 18

Just inside the building, the man stopped the soldiers carrying Y/N on the stretcher long enough to shove a loaded syringe into her neck and depress the plunger.

“What will that do?” growled a soldier.

“Hopefully, make her scared enough to submit,” answered the tight lipped man.

“For your sake, doc, she’d better behave,” threatened the soldier.

“She’ll be fine,” promised the doc, letting a hand rest on Y/N’s shoulder before they were on the move again to a jeep that awaited them on the ground.

Back on the roof, Steve glared at the soldiers, waiting for just the right moment to make his move. Next to him, Clint was ready to spring into action as well.

“Father or not,” Steve mumbled through clenched teeth. “He’s not taking her.”

“I’m with you,” Bruce replied, his voice growing gravely and deep as the Hulk pushed his way forward.

“Take them out.” The order was spoken softly but the result was explosive. Hulk burst forward with a shout, Clint’s arrows flew through the air with uncanny speed and accuracy. Steve’s shield flew through the air with him close behind it. In no time at all, the 20 soldiers were down. Hulk leaped off the building and into the battle on the ground while Clint and Steve ran for the door. Once inside, they split up and ran down the different stairwells until they reached the ground floor. Outside, Hulk’s yelling reverberated around the clearing as he ran down a group of soldiers.

Steve paused to take in the battle scene. Near the trees, SHIELD agents, Bucky, and Nat were fighting a group of Hydra soldiers. Hulk was chasing down another group. Steve jumped into action as a stray bullet ricocheted off of his shield. He punched a nearby soldier while his eyes scanned the clearing for the small man and Y/N on the stretcher. He saw them on the far side in a jeep. He began running, clearing his path as he went.

“BUCKY!” he shouted. Bucky gave the man he was fighting one final punch and turned to see where Steve was pointing. He saw Y/N on a stretcher on the back of an old army jeep. He was much closer than Steve and he saw that Y/N was now wide awake and struggling. Running toward the jeep, which had stopped to unload Y/N into a larger truck, Bucky burst through the tree line firing his gun and taking out three Hydra operatives. Y/N screamed his name and continued to struggle against the straps holding her down and the small man trying to hush her.

“Change Y/N!” Bucky yelled just as Steve arrived and jumped into the fray. Y/N’s eyes closed tight and the air around her shimmered with light. The doc stepped back, raising his hands to block out the bright light. The light got brighter and brighter until most of the nearby fighting paused to see what was happening by the jeep.

With a final flash, the light shot out through the trees and then it was gone. Steve blinked the spots out of his eyes to focus on Y/N but she was no longer there. The largest snowy white wolf he had ever seen stood before him. Her head was nearly level with Steve’s, her legs were rippling with muscle, and her lips were pulled back in a growl. Covering the wolf’s back, shoulders, and sides was black, medieval-looking armor but before Steve could take in all the intricate markings on the armor, a bullet bounced off of it and drew the wolf’s attention. Y/N’s head whipped around, her ice-blue eyes flashing. She was magnificent. She was fierce. She was furious.

“Y/N?” Steve whispered, hoping she was still in there somewhere. The wolf paused to glance at him. So quickly that Steve might have missed it if his sight wasn’t serum-enhanced, the wolf winked at him. Steve grinned. “There’s my girl.”

The wolf’s seconds of hesitation gave the doc the time he needed to collect himself. “Y/N!” he called loudly.

Y/N’s whipped around and looked down at the short man, a menacing growl ripped from her throat.

“Schweig jetzt klein. Schweig jetzt klein. Schweig jetzt klein,” the doc said quickly, the words rolling off his tongue as if he said them daily. Y/N simply stared at him.

“It’s not going to work, Doc,” Steve said, moving to stand next to Y/N while Bucky took out the rest of the small group of soldiers. “No one said the first phrase. This is all Y/N.”

“It’s not possible,” the doc whispered. “She’s supposed to be too afraid to change.”

“I think we need to have a long talk,” Steve said, taking the doc by the arm. The fighting was basically over now. Hulk was still howling at someone but Nat was working at calming him down. Steve began to drag the doc back to the plane. Y/N nipped at his feet a couple of times when the doc hesitated, making Bucky chuckle as he followed them. They stepped out of the tree line to find the field strewn with Hydra operatives in various stages of surrender and some still unconscious or worse. Y/N ran to Hulk and rubbed her head against his arm, thanking him for saving her. With a deep chuckle, Hulk scratched behind one of Y/N huge ears.

Bucky took custody of the doc and took him into the plane’s holding cell. Nat and Clint took care of what was left of the Hydra operatives and Hulk relinquished to Banner who took himself onto the plane to rest. Sam and Tony had finished scouring the area for strays and each landed to help round up those who surrendered. Steve stood in front of Y/N, admiring her wolf form.

“Y/N,” he said softly, letting his hand run down the soft fur that peaked through the armor on her shoulder and rest on the armor itself. “Where did this come from?”

“I’m not really sure, I think I saw it once in a picture,” Y/N replied, sitting down next to Steve in the grass. “I thought I would need something in case someone tried to shoot me.”

“Are you ready to change back now?” Steve asked, wanting to be ready to catch her in case she passed out.

“I guess,” Y/N’s wolf shoulder lifted in a shrug. “To be completely honest, I think this is my favorite form.”

“You’re gorgeous as a white wolf, sweetheart,” Steve said softly, “but nothing compares to the normal you.

“Sweet talker,” Y/N replied before bowing her large head and closing her eyes with a sigh. Light swirled around her as the wolf slowly pulled back into her skin. Steve stood ready to catch her but Y/N stood strong.

“It looks like changing is getting easier for you,” Steve noticed.

“I think it is,” Y/N replied.

“Y/N,” Steve turned serious as they watched the last of the captured Hydra operatives march up the ramp and into holding cells in the bottom of the plane. There were only about 15 operatives that surrendered. “Did you recognize that doctor who took you?”

“Not really,” Y/N shrugged. “I mean, there’s something familiar about him but I don’t know why.”

“He claims to be your father,” Steve told her as gently as he could.

“But my parents are both dead,” Y/N said, her voice trembling slightly.

“That you remember,” Steve suggested, helping her move beyond her memories into the unknown.

“Yeah, that I remember,” Y/N agreed, wrapping her arms around her middle. Steve couldn’t stand to see her looking so vulnerable so he wrapped his own arms around her, kissing her temple. Tony appeared at the bottom of the ramp.

“We ready to go, you two,” he said. “One more base to go and then we will head home.”

Steve nodded and led Y/N up the ramp and up the second floor after Y/N expressed a need to shower and put on clean clothes. Steve left her upstairs and went down to talk with the team.

“What are we going to do with Dr. Nefario?” Clint asked, gesturing to the holding cell with the doc sitting in it.

“Y/N needs to talk to him,” Nat said. Sam nodded.

“She shouldn’t do it alone,” Bucky put in.

“She won’t,” Steve replied. “I’m not leaving her alone with him.”

“I’m ready,” Y/N’s voice sounded throughout the large bay of the plane. Steve turned and thought he would never tire of the sight of Y/N. She was dressed in simple jeans and another one of his shirts. It hung on her frame with the hem of the front shoved into the waistband of her jeans. Steve thought she looked perfect. “I’m ready to talk to my dad.”


	19. Chapter 19

“They forced me.”

Y/N sat on one side of a plain white table with Steve next to her, holding her hand under the table. Her “father” sat on the other side with his hands in cuffs resting on the table. He had quite a tale to tell.

“My name is Dr. Justin Albert. Hydra kidnapped me, your mother, and you from my lab,” he explained before any questions could be asked. “They kept us separate for months. They knew about your gift and wanted to use you to start an experimental program for children with your kinds of gifts.”

“I saw the videos of the children,” Y/N acknowledged. She took a deep breath and mentally steeled herself, giving Steve’s hand a squeeze. He squeezed back in solidarity. “Listen, if you’re lying to me about being my father, that’s fine. A DNA test will prove everything on that end. What I want to know is what specifically was done to me. FRIDAY is monitoring you and she’s ten times better than any lie detector.”

“I can tell you some things, but there are some things that they wouldn’t let me be around for,” he started. Y/N glanced at Steve who nodded once back at her.

“Tell me what you know,” Y/N commanded softly.

“After they took us, I was sent to work on what they called mind programming,” he started. “They wanted me to develop it further than they had gotten with the Winter Soldier. With him they had activation words to make him compliant but when they were done with him, they wiped his mind and froze him. They wanted to be able to, in effect, turn someone on and off as they wished. They thought if they started with children it would be easier.”

“And you just went along with this?” Steve demanded.

“I tried to bide my time until I could find out where they took my family and how I could get us all out of there,” Dr. Albert defended himself. “I did most of what they asked but I with each child I worked with, I built in a back door, an escape of sorts.”

“What kind of escape?” Y/N asked, the video of the words being spoken to her running through her head.

“I made it so that the subject could say the words to themselves and snap out of the programming at any time,” he explained. Y/N’s eyes grew large. “The only one it didn’t work on was you,” Dr. Albert said apologetically.

“Why didn’t it work on me?” Y/N questioned.

“Your adrenaline levels were always too high, you couldn’t calm yourself down,” he explained. “You were always a very nervous child but when Hydra took us, your levels spiked and stayed high. It took them days to even get you to eat.”

“How was my adrenaline suppressed?” Y/N asked, know Bruce was listening.

“Basically, I developed a very specific drug to suppress the excretion of fight or flight adrenaline,” he explained. “It wouldn’t harm you or have any other effects on your body except to inhibit the extra production and reduce spikes.”

“Can that be reversed?” Steve questioned.

“For short periods of time, yes. I considered how nervous you were as a child and knew that was no life for an adult to live. I don’t know why your body was constantly producing adrenaline but it wasn’t healthy. And in the long run, dangerous. The drugs cannot be removed from your system, they will only stop working when you are dosed with a suppression drug but that will only work for maybe 30 minutes at a time.”

“What happens when that drug is administered?” Bruce came through the door, needing to ask his own questions. He stood resolutely beside Y/N with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I gave it to her earlier today. I lied to the Hydra operatives, telling them it would make her submit,” Dr. Albert stated. “It allows her adrenaline to spike as it chooses. When I gave it to her as a child, she grew incredibly scared and her heart raced so fast that I thought she might have a heart attack. But, I hoped, as an adult, it would release her enough to do what she did.”

“I didn’t feel any different,” Y/N commented.

“I wasn’t sure how you would handle it,” Albert confessed. “I hoped that you would break free and not be reduced to fear.”

“Continue with your story please, how did Y/N escape?” Steve pushed.

“After the adrenal suppression had been in place for a while, I realized that she still wouldn’t be able to change herself back by saying the phrase to herself,” Dr. Albert continued with a sigh. “It just wasn’t working. They had split the children up but allowed me to go along with Y/N to the next facility. After a couple weeks there, the first child died. Complications with the experiment their doctor was running. I knew then that I had to move up my plans to get Y/N out. But I hadn’t found your mother yet, so I couldn’t leave. I convinced them that you were ready for a field trial. My assigned partner made you change into your grey wolf and he and I took you out to a small town to see how well you obeyed instruction. I managed to get alone with you, inject the freeing drug, and whisper the second phrase so you could change back. Just as I did, my partner came around the corner holding a gun to my head. You changed into the white wolf and saved me.”

“What did I do?” Y/N whispered.

“You stopped him, Y/N, isn’t that enough?” Albert replied softly, concern in his eyes.

“Tell me what I did!” Y/N demanded.

“You ripped his throat out,” Albert confessed, tear shining in his eyes. “He had made you so angry and with the drugs in your system, you had no idea what you were doing.”

Y/N gasped as a tear ran down her face. “I killed a man. Violently.” Y/N whispered to herself. Steve put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her temple.

“It wasn’t you babe, you didn’t know what you were doing,” Steve consoled.

“You really didn’t know, Y/N,” Albert continued. “You had already had your mind wiped a couple of times. You didn’t even know that I was your father. Just a kind doctor.”

“Why do I have the memories that I have?” Y/N asked.

“I fed you a false identity. I didn’t want you growing up knowing what had been done to you or how I wasn’t able to save you,” Dr. Albert choked. “You were a teenager by the time I was able to get you away from them so I fed you a fake story, provided you with a new name, and made arrangements for you to be picked up and taken to a family who you believed were your actual parents.”

“They died,” Y/N whispered. “So I never had a dog named Sandy?” Y/N’s thoughts flew through her memories of the loving dog that got her through her childhood… or whatever it was she was remembering. Steve’s arm was still around her shoulders but now started rubbing circles on her back.

“No, honey, I’m sorry,” Dr. Albert replied sadly. “I almost didn’t give you those memories but I thought you ought to have had something comforting in the giant mess of our lives.”

“One last question for now,” Y/N took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry. “Where’s my mother?”

“I never found her.”


	20. Chapter 20

Y/N sat curled up on one of the couches, her knees against her chest and her cheek resting on her knees. Thoughts about the conversation she had had with Dr. Albert flew through her head at an alarming rate. She wanted to believe that he was truly her father, even though he did horrible things and caused her to believe a lie. Y/N knew he did the best he could to stay alive and keep her alive in terrible circumstances. Tony was running the DNA test now, so FRIDAY should have an answer quickly. Y/N wanted a family, now that her memories of who she thought were her family were ruined. Steve sat down next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to rest against him. Bucky took a seat on the arm next to her. The rest of the team had made themselves scarce.

“Wanna talk, babe?” Steve asked gently.

“My life is a lie,” Y/N replied miserably.

“No, it’s not,” Steve replied firmly, moving back so that he could look into her eyes. “You, this amazing person that I love holding in my arms, you are not a lie. Your heart, your mind, your compassion, none of those are lies. Our love is not a lie. Everything we have accomplished and discovered together, and everything that we have yet to discover is not a lie. I know that there are some unanswered questions still and a lot to deal with, but honey, I will be with you every step of the way. No matter what comes, I’m not going anywhere.”

“But what if I really am a horrible monster?”

“We’ve already established that you’re not,” Steve smiled.

“I think I can weigh in here, if you’ll let me, Y/N,” Bucky inserted softly, clearing his throat nervously. Y/N looked up at him and nodded, laying her head on Steve’s shoulder. “I think I am uniquely qualified to address this situation. I know that you know what happened to me and how I was used by Hydra.”

“Yes, I know,” Y/N replied, tears in her eyes.

“Aw, don’t cry, doll. You’ll make me cry and then I won’t be able to get this out,” Bucky knelt down in front her and rubbed a thumb across her cheek, whisking a tear away before he continued. “I’ve struggled a lot since Steve found me, but I have come to realize one thing: we cannot let our past define our future. Most normal people get to live lives made up of their own decisions and consequences. We haven’t had that luxury. But that doesn’t have to dictate how we make decisions now. We both have blanks in our past, gaps in our memories that may or may not get filled with the truth, but that just means that we get to relish every second of the present and a future that we choose.”

“Oh Bucky,” Y/N sobbed. Steve’s arms wrapped tighter around her as she snaked an arm around his waist.

“Y/N,” Bucky continued. “Even now, while still waiting for answers, you don’t have to put your life on hold. After all, you have the second best guy in the world head over heels in love with you.”

“Jerk,” Steve said.

“I mean, yeah he’s a punk,” Bucky replied lightly, “but he does love you. And the team is by your side. You’re not alone in this and, if you will let us, we would love to be a part of your future.”

Y/N smiled and wrapped both of her arms around Bucky’s neck. Steve’s hand stayed on her back, giving her constant support with his touch.

“I can’t imagine my future without all of you,” Y/N whispered as Bucky returned her hug.

“Alright kids, break it up,” Tony joked loudly and he and the rest of the team filed into the room. Y/N released Bucky and he took a seat back on the arm of the couch. Everyone else found a seat on one of the couches except Clint who perched along the back of the couch behind Y/N’s head.

“Okay,” Tony began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Y/N, but it’s tough conversation time. FRIDAY is finished with the DNA test and all the genetic markers are there. Albert is your biological father. Now, that being said, he has some pretty hefty crimes to own up to and pay for. Not just his role in what happened to you, but the more files we uncover, the more we see his hand in a lot of Hydra’s pies. It will help that he has cooperated with us thus far. FRIDAY didn’t register any physiological changes to indicate he was lying to you about anything he said.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Y/N asked.

“That’s up the authorities to decide,” Tony answered. “Right now, though, we have some decisions to make.”

“Go ahead,” Y/N prompted.

“Option number one: we turn around and go home now. Turn Albert over to the authorities at SHIELD and live life from there, finding answers as we go. Option number two: we continue on to the last Hydra base on the list and keep pushing for answers here and now.”

“Is that all?” Y/N asked.

“Well, option three involved the Hulk and Albert in an octagon, but nobody went for that,” Clint put in from her behind Y/N’s head. Y/N leaned her head back into Clint’s stomach.

“I would prefer that we avoid that if at all possible,” she said with a small smile, looking up the archer. Sighing, Y/N gazed around the room. These people had so quickly become her family, her support system. They were willing to walk into battle with her and for her and they were willing to help pick up the pieces of her life and shattered past to have a brighter future. Her gaze landed on Steve and she raised her eyebrows in question.

“I’m with you, babe, whatever you decide,” he said softly.

“We’re all with you,” Nat confirmed.

“What would you do, Nat?” Y/N inquired, trusting the other woman’s judgment.

“Answers, no matter how hard they may be to swallow, are better than questions, I say we push for answers,” Nat replied quickly and firmly. Y/N nodded.

“Answers then,” Y/N agreed. The nodding heads around the room confirmed that everyone was on board.

It would take a few hours to get to the next base, so the team occupied themselves with making dinner and sitting around talking. It was relaxing and normal, even though their circumstances were rarely ever what anyone would consider normal. Y/N stayed close to Steve and when they sat, he pulled her closer. With her head on his shoulder, Y/N drifted to sleep.

“Looks like you’ve been relegated to a pillow,” Bucky whispered, taking a seat across from them.

“Yeah,” Steve whispered back, running his hand lightly over her hair. “I can only imagine how exhausted she is after just today, much less the past week and a half.”

“You really love her, don’t you, pal,” Bucky commented.

“Yes,” Steve replied, meeting Bucky’s eyes with certainty. “I really do love her.”

“Can people fall in love so fast?” Bucky asked without malice.

“When it’s right, it’s right,” Steve shrugged the shoulder Y/N’s head wasn’t on.

“I’m glad you have her.” Bucky’s blue eyes misted over as he looked down at his clasped hands, one soft and warm, one hard and cold.

“Buck-” Steve started but was interrupted when the pilot announcing that they were preparing to land.

Bucky stood to get ready. Steve carded his fingers through Y/N’s hair.

“We’re almost there, baby,” he whispered, kissing her head. “Time to wake up.”

“Mmmmm, too comfy,” Y/N’s muffled voice replied from his chest where she buried her face.

“I’m comfy too, babe, but come on, only one more base and then we can go home. We’ll make this quick.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”  
\------

The Avengers and the SHIELD teams stomped down the ramp and into the soft grass of the landing field. The landing strip itself had not been maintained. Y/N decided to remain in her human form, she was still exhausted from her stint as a wolf at the last base. Steve had dressed her in as much protective gear as possible and made her promise to stay near him and obey his orders without question. Y/N promised to try but made no illusions about her desire to get answers at any cost. Bucky had simply rolled his eyes and muttered something about another wreckless punk to watch out for.

Steve directed the SHIELD teams to disperse and cover as much ground as possible outside the base. He didn’t want a repeat of the last base. Tony flew Clint to the flat roof of the two-story brick building while Nat and Bruce went around to the back. Y/N stayed in between Bucky and Steve as they made their way to the front door. Sam flew into the open hanger that stood about a hundred yards from the building just to make sure it was as empty as it seemed.

“Something’s off,” Bucky said quietly. Agreement echoed through the comms.

“We’re in the back, Cap,” Nat reported. “It looks like a perfectly normal kitchen but the hairs on my arm are standing up.”

“Stay sharp,” Steve commanded. “We’re heading in.”

Bucky stepped through the door first, quickly clearing the room.

“Clear,” he commed. Steve gestured Y/N in first, letting his gaze cast around the field as he stepped in last. The room was more of a foyer than anything. A hallway led to the back of the building and a staircase went up. The rail was wooden and ornate. To the left was a large open doorway with an intricately carved arch, to the right was a smaller room lined with bookshelves and a large oak desk in the middle.

“I don’t understand,” Y/N murmured. There were paintings hanging on the walls and even a coat rack inside the front door.

“Steve,” Bruce’s voice sounded over the comms. “I don’t think this is a typical base, I think it’s a house.”

“Sam, go back to the plane and bring Dr. Albert,” Steve ordered.

“On it,” came the quick reply. While they waited for Sam to bring Albert, the rest of the rooms in the house were cleared, including a large basement lined with filing cabinets. On the outside, it was a simple brick building, nothing special. But on the inside, it felt like a real house with woodwork and all the comforts of a home. They were about to go down into the basement when Sam pushed Albert through the front door. He stood in the foyer and his jaw dropped as he looked around.

“Have you ever been here before, Doctor?” Steve asked. He was torn between wanting to be nice to Albert because he was Y/N’s father and wanting to rip him to tiny pieces.

“No,” Albert answered, still looking around in aw. “This is one of the few bases they never let me come to, now I see why. I’m sure you know that this is quite atypical.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Tony muttered from the stairs.

“Let's head to the basement,” Steve instructed. Clint and Tony led the way downstairs, lights turned on automatically when they sensed movement. Y/N’s eyes widened in the dim light when she took in all the filing cabinets. There had to be more than a hundred.

“This basement is quite a bit larger than the footprint of the house,” Bruce noted as he moved to the first cabinet. He pulled open the top drawer to find it completely full. “We’re going to need more hands.”

Steve nodded and commed the SHIELD teams outside, instructing them to leave one team stationed around the house and the other two to come down into the basement for file extraction. He did not receive a response. He tried again, moving Y/N to the middle of the room. The rest of the team circled around her automatically, ready for anything. Albert followed their lead and turned his back to Y/N, ready to fight for her even though he had no weapon.

Slowly, echoing through the silence, footsteps sounded on the stairs. High heels on wood. A pair of black high heeled boots came into view, followed by long shapely legs, hips, torso, and then a face. The woman was beautiful with long brown hair, delicate features, and immaculate makeup with perfectly winged eyes the exact shade as Y/N’s. She stopped on the last step, placed her hands on her hips and smirked at the group.

“Evelyn?” Albert’s shaking voice broke the silence.

“Hello, Justin,” her velvet voice sounded throughout the basement with no hint of an accent. Her sharp eyes landed on Y/N. “Hello, daughter. Welcome to my home.”


	21. Chapter 21

Evelyn Albert stood on the stairs of the dim basement and smirked, reveling in the shocked faces of the Avengers as they stared at her and took this new information. A wall behind them opened silently and the room filled with Hydra soldiers before anyone could even move. Y/N, surrounded by Avengers who were surrounded by Hydra, felt sick and lightheaded. She was still exhausted from the past few days and her knees gave out. Bucky caught her from behind and lifted her into his arms. In her shock, she just sat in his arms and stared at this woman claiming to be her mother.

“What’s all this Evelyn?” Albert demanded loudly, his face starting to turn red.

“Oh, how dense can you really be, Justin? After all this time, did you really never figure it out?” Evelyn teased with a sneer.

“Was it all a lie?” Albert asked weakly. “Our marriage, all the things we meant to each other, everything?”

“Ummm,” Evelyn tapped a long red fingernail against her chin as she pretended to think. “Yep!” she smiled brightly.

“You’re insane,” Bruce muttered.

“Yeah, maybe,” she replied, her smile still bright. “But at least I’m happy!” She gestured to the Hydra soldiers surrounding the team. They closed in and began prodding the team through the opening in the wall. Steve nodded to everyone, letting them know to go along with things. They still needed answers before they busted out. Bucky gently put Y/N back on her feet when Steve got close and Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her close and give her support. Y/N still hadn’t said a word or taken her eyes off of Evelyn. The soldiers moved them down a hallway lit by dim, bare yellow bulbs lined by empty cells. One by one the team was each pushed into a cell and the door slammed shut until only Steve and Y/N were left.

“If you think I’m leaving her with you, you’ve got another thing coming,” Steve growled at the lead Hydra officer who had done most of the pushing. The man simply shrugged and pushed Steve and Y/N into the same cell. As the rest of the soldiers moved on, Steve sat Y/N down on the cot against the wall and knelt down in front of her, blocking her from view from the cell door. “Everyone good?” Steve muttered very quietly into his comms. Everyone replied a soft affirmative except Albert who had no comms in his ears.

“FRIDAY’s scanning the place,” Tony reported. “The base is huge and entirely underground beneath the house.”

“Exits?” Steve asked.

“The way we came in through the basement and another door on the other side of the base,” Tony replied swiftly. “But FRIDAY thinks that the elevator up to that exit might be broken. Everything here is very old and the technology is painfully out of date. Some things are just straight falling apart.”

“Banner?” Steve asked.

“Hulk can break out of here without even trying, Steve,” Banner replied.

“Ok, hold off on that right now, we need more information,” Steve answered. He quickly explained the plan and had just finished when Evelyn appeared in their cell doorway on the other side of the cold, black bars.

“I would like to speak to my daughter please, Captain,” she said as if she were simply asking for a weather report.

Steve looked into Y/N’s eyes, concerned that she had to yet to speak a word. She simply nodded to him, knowing her role in the plan. He gently kissed her lips before moving to stand and helping her to her feet. Y/N took a deep breath and walked herself over to the door but stayed an arm’s length away from it.

“Look at you,” Evelyn began. “You’re so beautiful and powerful. Do you have any idea what you’re capable of, my dear? I would love to show you!”

“Are you really my mother?” Y/N demanded softly, her voice steady but soft.

“Oh, of course I’m your mother, dear! It just kills me how Justin kept us apart all these years, never once allowing me to see you or hold you, my own daughter,” Evelyn placed a perfectly manicured hand over her heart as a tear dripped down her cheek.

“Maybe he thought you were dead, seeing as how you disappeared after he and I were kidnapped,” Y/N replied, her face turning hard. “Apparently it was just him and I who were actually kidnapped. Looks like you went voluntarily.”

“Oh sweetie,” Evelyn cooed through the bars. “You don’t need to worry about any of that anymore, you’re with me now. You’re safe and I’m going to teach you everything you need to know.”

“I think I know just about everything I need to know already,” Y/N replied, leaning her head slightly to the right. “You used my father and me, gave us to Hydra because of his knowledge and scientific expertise and me because of what I can do. We were nothing more than a power play for you.”

“When you were just a baby,” Evelyn whispered as if she were conveying a deep secret. “When you first changed into that adorable sandy colored puppy, I knew you were something special. Something that needed exploring to maximize your potential. I couldn’t just let Justin hide you away. The world deserves someone with your talents.”

“Hydra was trying to make me into a killing machine,” Y/N’s voice cracked slightly. “Why the hell does the world deserve that?”

“Oh honey, you just don’t understand yet,” Evelyn consoled. “But soon, darling, soon all those nasty thoughts will be purged from your head and you will be free to become what you were meant to be! I will set you free, my daughter!”

With that, Evelyn turned and sacheed down the hallway in the same direction the soldiers went. Y/N turned slowly to Steve and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Did everyone hear all that?” Steve asked through his comms.

“She’s going to wipe Y/N’s mind again,” Bucky growled.

“She’s going to try, but we’re not going to let that happen,” Steve’s firm conviction comforted Y/N in his arms and everyone else through the comms. “At the first opportunity, move ahead with the plan. Bruce, keep Hulk back until the final moment, we’ll need him to get us out of here.”

“Right, Steve, I’ll do everything I can. He’s pretty mad though,” Bruce’s voice sounded lower than normal and with a hint of gravel.

“Tony, you about ready?” Steve asked, pulling Y/N back and cupping her face.

“I’m ready when you say the word,” Tony replied.

“Okay, it won’t take long for Evelyn to come back for Y/N,” Steve predicted and he wasn’t wrong. A couple minutes later, Evelyn and five guards reappeared in their cell door. The door opened and the guards ran in, pulled Y/N from Steve’s arms, punched Steve and pulled Y/N out. Steve grunted as he fell back onto the floor and the cell door slammed shut behind him.

“Steve?” Bucky’s voice cracked through the comms.

“I’m okay, been a long time since I’ve taken a dive,” Steve replied, rubbing his jaw where a soldier slugged him. Payback was going to be impressive.

“How long are we going to wait?” Nat asked. Steve could see her pace in the cell across from him.

Steve just looked at her.

Y/N walked ahead of the soldiers next to Evelyn. They walked through the remainder of the hallway and into a large room with a chair. Y/N’s eyes grew large as she took in the contraption. Wires surrounded the seat and large metal arms swung up from the back on a hinge.

“What’s that do?” Y/N asked, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance even though her insides were shaking and churning.

“This will set you free, my dear,” Evelyn said, pulling Y/N toward the chair. “This will help you reach your full potential.”

Y/N tried to jerk her arm away from Evelyn, but the woman dug her nails in, drawing blood and causing Y/N to whimper.

“Come now, darling, there’s no use in struggling, this is going to happen whether you like it or not,” Evelyn growled and surprised Y/N with her strength.

“I just need some answers, first, please… Mom.” Y/N’s pleas did not fall on deaf ears, Evelyn stopped and looked at Y/N with big eyes.

“Of course darling,” Evelyn responded with an eerie calm.

“I just wanted to know, do you know how I got these powers? You said I could change as a baby, was I born like this?” Y/N asked.

“I think you were, yes,” Evelyn answered softly. “That’s what made you so special and valuable. I tried to talk your father into using your talents for more than amusing yourself but he wouldn’t hear of it. I finally had to call in my soldiers to take control of the situation so that you would have the opportunities that you deserved to be all you could be.”

“But now, you’re going to wipe my mind?” Y/N asked. “How is that freedom? I’ll become the machine that Hydra always wanted me to be.”

“Yes dear,” Evelyn ran the back of her hand down Y/N’s cheek. A shiver ran down Y/N’s back. “You will be perfect. Now, no more stalling, time to take your place beside me.”

The soldiers pushed Y/N into the chair and strapped her down. No amount of struggling freed her. Y/N tried to close her eyes and breath deeply, pulling on her power to change into something, anything that would help. The white wolf. But nothing happened, all she did was tire herself out even more.

“Now now, dear, none of that,” Evelyn chided, her voice trilling like an annoying bird. “At least not until I tell you what to become and who to kill for me.”

Y/N’s head was pushed back into the large circular arms jutting out from the behind the chair. A mouth guard was shoved in her mouth, and the chair reclined. Her eyes flew to the doorway, praying someone would be there to save her. The doorway was empty. 


	22. Chapter 22

Steve paced in his cell. He could easily hear what was happening down the hall. The voices echoed off of the walls and he tuned his ears to Y/N’s voice. She needed to ask her questions and try to get some answers from her past but things weren’t working out like Steve had hoped. All Evelyn had confirmed was that she was Y/N’s mother and based on Dr. Albert’s reaction, that was true. Everything else had been a special brand of crazy. When he heard the creaking of metal on metal, he knew it was time. With a swift kick, his cell door became scrap metal.

“Let’s go,” he ordered. One by one, the cell doors burst open. Clint came racing down the corridor, past Steve, and he skidded to a halt in the doorway, his bow raised to shoot.

Y/N took a deep breath and tried not to panic. The chair was fully reclined now and the metal pieces were being put on her face by someone in a lab coat standing over her. Electricity crackled through the plates and as they neared her head and she felt a shock through her temples. Crying out, Y/N raised her eyes just in time to see an arrow pierce the man’s throat. The metal plates fell to the side and all hell broke loose. Y/N tried to watch but black spots clouded her vision and her head pounded from the electrical shock.

Clint, Steve, and Bucky ran into the room and quickly took out every soldier. Nat slid behind Evelyn and was holding her steady until the ruckus died down. Tony and Bruce untied Y/N and pulled her out of the chair. Once she was on her feet, her head spun and she passed out. Hulk immediately took action, taking over Banner in time to catch Y/N before she hit the floor.

“I can take her, big guy,” Tony said, holding his arms out.

“Wolfy girl not yours,” Hulk growled, holding Y/N gently in his large green arms.

“Hulk,” Steve said, drawing his attention. “I need you to help us get out of here now. Remember what Banner told you about the plan?”

Hulk grunted in response and looked down at Y/N in his arms.

“I’ll take care of her, Hulk, I promise,” Steve said gently, laying a hand on Hulk’s arm. With a finally grunt of what Steve guessed was approval, Hulk carefully laid Y/N into Steve’s arms. Steve took a knee on the floor and laid Y/N across his leg so that he could check her over. Bucky knelt in front of her, his hands checking her pulse and temples.

“It touched her briefly, I don’t know what the effect will be,” Bucky said softly. “She could lose nothing or everything.”

“Alright,” Steve sighed, wrapping his arms around Y/N and standing. “Let’s get out of here. Hulk, you’re up.”

Hulk grinned maniacally. He smashed through the door and down the hallway toward the basement. He through both fists against the wall and it burst through to the basement room filled with files. He was about to smash his way up to the house but stopped short when Tony called his name. The entire team stopped and looked at what Tony was pointing at. In the corner stood a large metal box, the door swung open to reveal a multitude of wires and tubes packed with C4. The clock ticked down from 3 minutes.

“Disarm it,” Tony ordered Evelyn, still being held in place by Nat.

“I can’t,” Evelyn replied with a shaking voice, her eyes wide with fear. “I’m not lying, I really can’t. And if you open the basement door, it’ll go off and kill us all!”

“Alright, plan B,” Steve called. Hulk grunted and turned back down the hallway, followed closely by Sam, Clint, and Dr. Albert. Nat and Evelyn stayed close to Steve and Bucky. Tony glanced at the bomb before shrugging.

“I don’t think I can sort this mess out in time,” he said. “Even FRIDAY would need more than 3 minutes.”

“Alright,” Steve carefully handed Y/N to Bucky. “Get her out of here and move the plane to a safe distance.”

Bucky nodded and ran after Hulk toward the defunct elevator across the building. Steve turned hard eyes toward Evelyn. Nat’s hand moved up to her throat.

“Which files are about Y/N?” He demanded. Evelyn’s wild eyes swung all over the room before landing on the furthest cabinet.

“Top drawer,” she whispered.

“Any more?” Steve asked as Tony ran across the room and started pulling files.

“No, that’s everything at this compound,” Evelyn answered. Steve nodded and Nat dragged Evelyn down the hallway.

“Got it,” Tony called, his arms full of three thick files.

“Let’s get out of here,” Steve ordered, glancing at the clock. One and half minutes left. Tony and Steve ran down the hallway side by side. They quickly found the elevator shaft. Hulk had ripped the doors off and pulled the non-functioning elevator car up and out of the way. He was hanging on the thick wires waiting to help Steve out of the shaft. Light shone down from the opening at the top. Tony’s helmet flipped down and he flew up the shaft with the files in his arms. Steve took a flying leap from where the doors used to be. Hulk caught his outstretched arm and easily threw Steve up the shaft and out into the light. With a grunt and a push, Hulk leaped out of the shaft and landed on the soft grass. Steve took a quick look around and didn’t see any of the SHIELD personnel. He could only assume Hydra had taken them all out.

“FRIDAY,” Tony called as he flew across the field. “Any signs of the SHIELD teams?”

“No, boss,” the AI replied with a sad tone. “No life signs nearby.”

With a grimace, Tony flew into up the ramp of the plane as Bucky was moving it down the runway. Steve broke into a sprint with Hulk close behind. They ran up the ramp as it was lifting, the plane picked up speed and took off as the ramp sealed closed.

“Where is she?” Steve demanded as soon as he got his feet under him, feeling his stomach drop as the plane took off.

“Infirmary,” Clint replied, pushing Evelyn and Albert into the holding cell together. Neither looked happy to be together. Steve glanced behind him to see Bruce stand shakily, holding this pants closed. The plane rocked wildly as the compound beneath them exploded, creating a huge hole in the ground. Everyone was knocked to the floor until the plane righted itself and smoothed out.

“She needs you,” Steve said to Bruce, his voice cracking as the possibilities finally began to set in.

“I’m on my way,” Bruce replied, brushing past Steve quickly. Steve took a deep breath, stealing himself.

“She’ll be okay, Cap,” Clint comforted with a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “She’s strong and she wants to remember you.”

“I don’t know that that will be enough,” Steve muttered, not wanting to borrow trouble but he remembered all too clearly how Bucky had forgotten him. Whether Y/N remembered him or not, he needed to be by her side. Ripping his helmet off, he strode to the infirmary.

Bruce was leaning over Y/N, who was still unconscious. Nat had replaced Bucky at the helm and he stood next to Y/N’s head.

“Did you see how long the plates were on her head?” Bruce was asking.

“Not more than two seconds,” Bucky answered. “But the charge going through those things is so strong it’s visible.”

“How… how much pain?” Steve stumbled over the question. Y/N had been through so much, he needed to know what to be prepared for when she wakes.

“Steve,” Bucky shook his head. “You know that pain can be relative but for me, it was excruciating. I can’t imagine what she felt, even for those couple seconds.”

“How is she?” Steve asked Bruce, trying to take deep breaths and stay calm.

“Clearly unconscious but I don’t think she’s in any danger,” Bruce replied. “FRIDAY hasn’t found anything major beyond exhaustion. I’m going to hook her up to an IV to keep her hydrated and let her rest as long as she wants. I’ll monitor her constantly but I’m afraid that it will do more damage to try and wake her than to just let her wake naturally.”

“Alright,” Steve scrubbed a hand down his face and pulled up a chair next to the bed, taking Y/N’s hand. “I’ll wait with you.”

Bucky nodded and went back to the cockpit.

“Well?” Nat asked.

“No major issues, she’s just out,” Bucky answered, plopping down in the copilot’s seat.

“What do you think?” Nat asked sharply, not taking her eyes off of the instruments.

“I’m not the doctor,” Bucky replied just as sharply.

“Buck,” Nat rolled her eyes at him. “Tell me what you think. You’re the only one who has been through that. You’re our expert.”

“I think the contact was too short to really mess with her mind very much but everyone is different. I had already been given Hydra’s serum by the time they wiped me so everything about me was stronger,” he said softly, letting his memories take over. “Y/N is strong in her own right but I don’t know how those few seconds are going to effect her. She might not be effected at all, she might remember everything from her past, or she might be wiped clean. I’m just not sure.”

“And Steve?” She questioned.

“He’s doing his best. He probably won’t leave her until she wakes up.”

“So, home?”

“Home.”

***

Bucky was right, Steve didn’t leave Y/N’s side the entire flight home. He slept by her, ate by her, and talked to her. When they arrived back at the Avenger’s Tower, she was moved into the much larger infirmary there and Steve asked for a comfortable chair to be brought into her room. Tony got him a recliner large enough for the super soldier to be comfortable. Steve showered in the tiny bathroom and ate at the tiny table.

She slept for three days. Her vitals stayed strong and the IV fluids kept her hydrated. Tony and the others poured over the files they saved from the compound. They found everything from Y/N’s birth certificate to a complete history of her time with Hydra. Every test performed on her and every time the phrases were used to force her to turn into a wolf. If Y/N didn’t recover her memory, they had enough facts to help fill in the gaps.

Steve had fallen asleep in his chair after forcing down a bowl of ravioli for lunch. As unhealthy as it was, he found he had a love for that canned ravioli with the chef on the can. His light snores filled the room and pulled Y/N from her sleep. She blinked a few times and looked around, panic beginning to set in until she saw the sweet man sleeping peacefully. As large as that chair was, the man nearly overwhelmed it. His face was so relaxed she wondered if she could sneak past him to the bathroom.

She started to get but was held back by the IV stuck in her arm. She jerked it slightly, causing the lines to jingle against the metal pole. The large man’s eyes snapped open.

“Y/N!” He practically shouted.

“Y/N?” Bruce’s voice preceded him as he rushed in. They watched Y/N look back and forth between them, an uncertain look plastered across her face.

“Where am I?” She asked. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all so much for taking this ride with me. I have loved every minute of it and I hope you have too! Leave me a comment if you would like to maybe see a sequel with Steve and our shapeshifter!reader.

Steve took a breath, steeling himself for what was about to happen, what was about to be confirmed. She didn’t remember him.

“You are in the infirmary at the Avenger’s Tower in New York City,” Bruce replied slowly. “How do you feel?”

“I feel…” Y/N paused, taking stock of herself. “Foggy, tired, thirsty, and hungry. And I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Does your head hurt?” Bruce asked, taking notes on a tablet as Y/N spoke. Steve quickly brought her a cup of water and made sure she had a firm grip on it before letting it go. He did all this without looking directly at her once as if by holding off his gaze, he could avoid the inevitable.

“Not really,” Y/N replied, drinking the water greedily and then moving to get off the bed. Steve moved around to the other side of the bed, forcing Bruce to help her stand on trembling legs and lead her to the tiny bathroom.

After showing her where there were a toothbrush and toothpaste and once she was safely inside, Bruce turned to Steve. “You’re going to have to deal with this sooner or later, Steve.”

“I know, I’m just… afraid,” Steve mumbled, rubbing a hand down his face. “Bucky forgetting me was so hard, I just… with Y/N… it’s more.”

“I get it, Steve,” Bruce replied, laying a comforting hand on the super soldier’s large shoulder. “But even if she has no memory of you, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t still need you. She does. Now more than ever.”

“I know, but she’ll need Captain America, not Steve Rogers,” Steve replied sadly, looking like a kicked puppy. Their conversation halted when the door cracked open. Y/N felt a million times better now that her mouth didn’t feel like cotton, her face was clean, and she had used a small brush to pull her hair back into a loose bun. Bruce helped Y/N back to the bed and got her comfortable again. Steve stared at the floor.

“I am hungry,” Y/N told Bruce softly. “Can I have some oatmeal or something like that?”

“Yes, okay, I’ll go get you some food,” Bruce replied, eyeing Steve who looked anxiously at him. He set the tablet down on the small table next to the door and pulled the door closed as he left.

“You’re really feeling ok?” Steve asked hesitantly, not really wanting to ask questions that would confirm that her mind had truly been wiped. He stepped over to the window and looked out into the sunshine of the morning.

“I guess so, I mean, as well as can be expected I guess,” Y/N replied softly, not taking her eyes from his back. It was a strong back, topped with broad shoulders that seemed to carry the weight of the world on a regular basis. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Steve answered, looking down at his hands instead of turning towards her. “I’m glad you’re feeling alright.”

“Are you going to ever look at me?” Y/N demanded. Steve hesitated, closing his eyes in resignation. “Steven Grant Rogers, you look at me right now!”

Steve whipped around and met her eyes. She grinned and held her arms out to him. He took two steps to cross the room and pulled her into arms, reveling in the feel of her against him. Her fingers slipped from his shoulders around the back of his neck and up into his hair. She pulled her head back enough to for him to find her lips and kiss her for all he was worth. Without fear or hesitation, hard and needy, Steve took control of her lips and tongue, opening her wide to let him in and dance with her. The faint taste of his coffee that lingered in his mouth mixed with the mint of her toothpaste and it was glorious. Steve’s hands roamed her back and shoulders, holding her as close as he could but still trying to be gentle. Her soft lips moved against his as she struggled to be even closer. Y/N’s sharp inhale through her nose drove him higher and needier but he knew he needed to reign in his desire, for now. His large hands cupped her face and held her still while he slowly pulled back from her, leaving little nips and light kisses on her lips and cheeks.

“I love you, Y/N,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. Both breathing heavy and not wanting to let the other go just yet.

“I love you back,” Y/N replied just as softly.

“I was so afraid you wouldn’t remember me,” Steve confessed, his lips moving a fraction of an inch away from hers.

“Never,” Y/N kissed him firmly, sealing the promise. “Never.”

“You remember everything that happened?” Steve questioned, scooting around to sit against the small headboard. Y/N leaned into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I remember everything up to the chair and the plates touching my head,” Y/N replied, her voice not wavering at all.

“We were able to get Evelyn to tell us which files were yours and get to them before the whole place blew,” Steve told her. “There’s just a hole in the ground now.”

“What happened to Evelyn and my father?” Y/N asked.

“Both have been turned over to SHIELD,” Steve said, pulling back so that he could look into her face. “Your father is turning and giving up all the Hydra bases and secrets that he knows. They will refrain from turning him over to the authorities if he keeps working with them.”

“And Evelyn?”

“She, unfortunately, wasn’t willing to work with SHIELD and if you think she acted crazy at the base, you should have seen her when SHIELD took her,” Steve shook his head. “Baby, she was insane.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Y/N replied with a wry smile.

“Tony took some blood from her and ran DNA, she is your biological mother.”

“I figured she was telling the truth about that,” Y/N answered. “So I wonder if her crazy is genetic.”

“I guess we’ll find out eventually,” Steve replied, a grin forming on his face.

“You’re going to keep me around that long?” Y/N teased, looking up into Steve’s face.

“Yep,” Steve answered, his face taking on a serious look. “I want you to stick around for a long time.”

“You do?” Y/N asked. Before Steve could answer, Bruce walked in with a tray holding a bowl of something white. Nat was close behind him.

“We didn’t have oatmeal but I found this cream of rice stuff that Clint likes and it should be pretty gentle on your stomach,” Bruce explained as he put the tray on a rolling table and pulled it over to the bed. “Can I assume that since you’re all snuggled up that you remember everything, Y/N?”

“Yes,” Y/N replied with a yawn.

“Eat,” Steve kissed her temple. “You need some more sleep I think.”

“I’ve been sleeping for days,” Y/N complain through another yawn.

“Take advantage of it while you can,” Nat said. “When you’re recovered, you start training with me every day.”

“Every day?” Y/N asked slowly with a gulp.

“Yep,” Nat nodded with a smirk. “Now, you guys get out, us girls need to have a quick chat.”

Steve and Bruce exchanged glances. Bruce shrugged and walked out of the small room. Steve kissed Y/N’s head and stood to leave, giving Nat a warning side eye as he passed her. Y/N nervously ate a bite of the cream of rice and found it to be smooth and comforting.

Nat sat herself down at the end of the bed. “I don’t know what Steve has already talked to you about but I wanted to be the one to tell you a few things.”

“Okay,” Y/N replied, trying to stop her nervous hand from shaking.

“First, I want you to know that you did good. It’s not easy to face your past, whether you remember it or not, and you handled it well.”

“Thank you,” Y/N mumbled.

“Second, I think you need to stay here with us, for your safety, Steve’s peace of mind, and I think you could be a real asset here. You have a unique talent and with some training, there’s very little you couldn’t do.”

“You want me to be a part of the team?” Y/N asked, dropping her spoon into the bowl as the realization hit.

“We all do, I just got to be the one to tell you,” Nat grinned.

“Well, if the Avengers all agree,” Y/N said with a smile. “Who am I to disagree?”

***

6 months later….

After months of training with Nat and Clint, Y/N became proficient in hand to hand combat. Tony moved her into the tower permanently. She had her own room and spend most nights with Steve. Bucky had made it his personal mission to come up with different and interesting animals for Y/N to morph into. Y/N had tried humans but couldn’t quiet get the nose right, so that was on hold for now. The longer Y/N went, the more the memories of her childhood returned. Bucky turned out to be an excellent ear to listen to her try and deal with her past. Steve held her close when the nightmares hit.

And now, they were in preparation mode for a new mission. This would be Y/N’s first mission as an animal. A suspected Hydra cell was hiding in the city, working out of an exotic pet store. Y/N would be sold to the store as a snake and see what she could find out. Tony had even rigged her snake self up with a tiny microphone that would rest behind of her teeth.

Y/N was on the roof, slithering around, practicing her movements and testing the microphone when the Bifrost slammed down next to her. She curled up, staying out of the beams of light. As the light dissipated, Thor and Loki stood on the roof looking majestic. Out of instinct, Y/N hissed.

“Well, what do we have here?” Thor asked excitedly. He bent over and picked Y/N up, letting her wrap around his large arm.

“Um, brother,” Loki said.

“Do you see this beautiful creature, Loki? It’s majestic! But what’s it doing on the roof?” Thor pondered as he looked the snake over.

“Thor,” Loki said as he stepped closer and looked the snake in the eye. A slow grin worked itself over his mouth. “Why don’t we take this lovely creature inside.”

Y/N let Thor carry her inside and they quickly found the rest of the team scattered around the living room.

“FRIENDS!” Thor boomed “We found this exquisite creature on the roof, to whom does it belong?”

“I’ll take her, Thor,” Steve said with a smile. Thor held out his arm and Y/N unwrapped herself from Thor and went up Steve’s outstretched arm and around his shoulders. Sam shuddered. Loki smirked.

“She is lovely,” Loki complimented with a slight bow. “Nice to meet one so similar to myself.”

Thor started as the snake grinned from Steve’s shoulder.

“The pleasure is mine,” she replied. Thor’s eyes grew large. Steve laughed and gently put Y/N down in a chair. The air swirled around her with a bright light and the faded away to reveal human Y/N sitting primly in the chair with a sly grin.

“Oh, I like her,” Loki said under his breath. Steve gave him a dark look. Y/N giggled and stood.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you both,” she shook their hands and then stood next to Steve. He wrapped his arm around her possessively. He couldn’t have said “she’s mine” any louder than if he had yelled it.

Tony strolled in and began running down the discourse of the mission that was set to begin tomorrow. Y/N settled down on the couch next to Steve as Tony flashed schematics and plans on the screen. She laid her head on Steve’s shoulder as she took in all the details. Glancing around the room she took in her new family. Nat lounged sideways in an armchair, her legs dangling over the arm. Clint laid on his side across the wide back of her chair. Bucky sat on the floor in front of Nat, her hand absentminded playing in his hair. Sam sat on the other side of Steve, much more relaxed now that the snake was gone. Tony stood authoritatively in front of the flatscreen TV as he pointed out areas Y/N was to check out.

They had all been through so much and there was so much they would endure in the future. But the future was different from the past in one very important way: they were together. 


End file.
